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Columbia  itoittfrgftp 

College  of  iPtipstcians  anb  burgeon* 
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AN 

INAUGURAL  DISSERTATION 


ON 


INFANTICIDE; 

SUBMITTED    TO 

THE  EXAMINATION  OF 
SAMUEL  BARD,  M.D.  LX.D.  PRESIDEiNT, 

AND    THE    TRUSTEES    AND    PROFESSORS    OP    THE    COLLEGE    OF 

PHYSICIANS    AND    SURGEONS    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF 

THE    STATE    OF    NEW-YORK  ; 


PUBLICKLY  DEFENDED, 


DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  MEDICINE, 


BY  JOHN  B.  BECK,  A.  M. 

SECOND    VICE-PRESIDENT    OF    THE    MEDICO-CHTRURGICAL    SOCIETY,    AND 
MEMBER   OF    THE    LYCEUM    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY. 


icus  studium   Jurisprudentiae,  nee  Jurisconsultus   studium  Medicinae  plant 
-Albtrti. 


JVEW-YORK: 

PRINTED    BY    J.    8EYMOUR,    NO.    49    JOHN-STREET. 
1817.' 


/f>/7 


Printed  under  the  authority  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  SurgeoDS  as  the  Statute  direct? 


TO   THE 

REV.  JOHN  B.  ROMEYN,  D.D. 
THIS    DISSERTATION 

IS    RESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED, 
WITH    EVERY    FEELING    OF    GRATITUDE    AND    AFFECTION, 

BY  HIS  NEPHEW, 

JOHN  B.  BECK. 


II AVID  HOSACK,  m.d.  f.r.s,  l.&  e.  f.l.s. 

PROFESSOR    OF    THE 

THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  PHYSIC, 

AND  OF  MIDWIFERY, 

■IN   THE   COLLEGE    OF    PHYSICIANS    AND    SURGEONS     OP     THE    UNIVERSITY 

OF    THE    STATE    OF    NEW-YORK,  &C.  &C. 

THIS  DISSERTATION  IS  DEDICATED, 

NO  LESS  FOR  HIS    DISTINGUISHED  EMINENCE  AS  A  PHYSICIAN, 

THAN    FOR    THE    UNIFORM    FRIENDSHIP    WHICH 

HE    HAS    MANIFESTED    TOWARDS 

HIS  PUPIL, 

THE  AUTHOR, 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Open  Knowledge  Commons 


http://www.archive.org/details/inauguraldissert01beck 


10 


THEODERICK  ROMEYN  BECK.  3I.D. 

FE.CFES50K    CF    TEE 

THEORY  AXD   PRACTICE   OF   PHYSIC. 

tZf    TEE     COLLEGE    OF   PHYSICIANS    AZfTJ      SrRGEO«S      II    THE     VXIYKKSm 

OF    THE    ;TATE    OF    5EW-T0RK.   ESTABLISHED   AT  FATE  FIELD.  fcc  <Lc 

THE  FOLLOWING  FRODUCTION 

rS    PftfiSFJfTEI)    A?    a.V    OFFERING     C7     FSATEBJfAE    RESPECT    AJSTJ 
AFFECTIOS.    FY    MB 

AUTHOR. 


TO 


JOHN  W.  FRANCIS,  M.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF    THE 

INSTITUTES  OF  MEDICINE, 

IN    THE    COLLEGE    OF     PHYSICIANS    AND    SURGEONS    OF    THE     UNIVERSITY 
OF    THE    STATE    OF    NEW-YORK,  &C.  &C. 

THIS  ESSAY  IS  INSCRIBED 

IN    TESTIMONY    OF    HIS    PROFESSIONAL    ATTAINMENTS 
AND    PRIVATE    WORTH, 


AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


The  science  of  Medical  Jurisprudence,  of  which  the  subject  of  the 
following  Dissertation  forms  an  important  branch,  lays  c'aim  to  the  atten- 
tion of  every  one  who  feels  any  concern  in  the  pure  administration  of  jus- 
tice. To  the  Physician,  it  recommends  itself  by  considerations  even  still 
more  interesting-.  It  is  only  by  a  knowledge  of  its  principles  that  he  can 
with  honour  release  himself  from  the  high  personal  responsibility,  which  he 
is  frequently  obliged  to  assume  in  cases  involving  the  lives  of  his  fellow- 
creatures.  In  most  criminal  trials  for  poisoning,  drowning,  infanticide,  &c. 
the  testimony  of  the  Medical  witness  must  necessarily  in  a  great  mea- 
sure decide  the  fate  of  the  accused.  It  cannot,  therefore,  but  be  obvious, 
how  useful  and  even  indispensabty  necessary  it  is  for  him  to  possess  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  a  branch  of  knowledge,  whose  object  it  is  to  sup- 
ply him  with  the  means  of  forming  just  inductions  and  correct  decisions, 
whenever  he  maybe  called  into  a  court  of  justice,  or  before  a  coroner's  in- 
quest. 

It  seems  singular  that  a  science  of  such  importance  should  have  been 
so  much  neglected,  both  in  Great  Britain  and  in  America.  In  the  former 
country,  there  is  not  a  single  writer  of  great  value  on  the  subject ;  and, 
with  the  exception  of  Dr.  Duncan's  Lectures  on  Legal  Medicine,  delivered 
in  Edinburgh,  it  has  been  hitherto  wholly  excluded  from  their  courses  of 
Medical  instruction.  In  this  country,  it  has  been  rather  more  cultivated. 
In  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  this  city,  it  has  for  several 
years  been  the  subject  of  Medical  instruction  by  Dr.  James  S.  Stringham. 
Lectures  have  also  been  delivered  on  it  by  Dr.  T.  R.  Beck,  in  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Fairfield,  in  this  State.  In  addition  to  these,  if 
the  writer  has  been  correctly  informed,  a  private  course  has  been  given  in 
Philadelphia,  by  Dr.  Caldwell. 

Thefe  are  indications  which  prove  that  the  science  is  not  wholly  disre- 
garded here ;  and  Ave  cannot  but  cherish  the  hope,  that  it  will  soon  at- 
tain to  that  elevation  among'  us,  to  which  it  has  long  since  arrived  in 
France  and  Germany,  where  it  has  given  birth  to  the  most  profound 
and  extensive  researches. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

page 

History  of  Infanticide, 13 

CHAPTER  II. 

Medico-Legal  History, 28 

Abortion,    ib. 

Murder  of  the  child  after  birth, 44 

CHAPTER  III. 

Prevention  of  Infanticide,     84 

History  of  Legislation  on  the  subject  of  Infanticide, 85 

Foundling  Hospitals 92 


INAUGURAL  DISSERTATION,  &c 


CHAPTER  I. 


HISTORY. 


Jt  is  a  fact  no  less  melancholy  than  astonishing,  that 
a  practice  so  unnatural  as  that  of  Infanticide  should 
ever  have  prevailed  to  any  extent.  Its  existence  might 
have  been  supposed  possible  in  those  unhappy  regions 
of  our  earth,  wheie  untutored  passion  and  brutal  sense 
reign  triumphant  over  reason  and  morality;  but  that 
the  fairest  portions  of  society,  where  genius,  science, 
and  refinement  had  taken  up  their  abode,  should  have 
been  disgraced  by  a  crime  so  disgusting,  is  one  of  those 
anomalies  in  the  history  of  human  feeling  and  conduct, 
which  irresistibly  prove  how  perfectly  arbitrary  and 
undefined  are  the  laws  of  justice  and  humanity,  when 
ungfuided  by  the  principles  of  true  religion 

The  fact,  however,  is  not  more  astonishing  than  true. 
A  slight  review  of  its  history,  will  show  us  that  this 
practice  prevailed  in  almost  all  the  ancient  nations,  and 
that  it  is  not  even  yet  blotted  from  the  list  of  human 
crimes. 

The  laws  of  Moses*  are  silent  on  the  subject  of  in- 
fanticide; and  from  this  circumstance  we  should  be  led 
to  conclude,  that  the  crime  wras  unknown  among  the 
Jews  at  that  period  of  their  history,  and  therefore,  that 
any  positive  prohibition  of  it  was  considered  unneces- 


*  Michaelis'  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  Moses,  vol.  iv 

C 


14 

sary.  The  penal  code  of  the  Jews  is  so  very  minute 
on  the  subject  of  murder  in  general — considers  it  so 
atrocious  a  crime,  and  denounces  such  terrible  punish- 
ments against  the  perpetrators  of  it,  that  it  is  wholly 
incredible  that  the  murder  of  infants  would  have  been 
countenanced  by  their  illustrious  legislator.  This  con- 
clusion appears  to  be  further  confirmed  by  the  consid- 
erations, that  barrenness  was  esteemed  one  of  the 
greatest  misfortunes  which  could  befal  a  Jewish  wo- 
man, and  that  the  Jews  were  all  desirous  of  a  proge- 
ny, because  each  cherished  the  hope  that  the  Messiah 
might  be  numbered  among  his  descendants  These 
facts  prove  that  every  inducement  was  held  out  for  the 
propagalion  of  children,  and  none  to  countenance  their 
destruction. 

At  a  subsequent  period,  when  they  became  conta- 
minated by  their  intercourse  with  the  Canaanites,  w7e 
find  the  Jews  imitating*  the  example  of  their  king 
Manasseh,  w?ho  sacrificed  his  son  to  the  idol  Molechf. 
These  horrid  sacrifices  were  suppressed  by  king  Josi- 
ah,  who  commanded,  "  that  no  man  might  make  his 
61  son  or  his  daughter  to  pass  through  the  fire  to  Mo- 
44  lechj,"  And  Tacitus,  in  describing  the  manners  of 
the  Jews  of  his  day,  says  that  they  were  not  allowed  to 
put  their  children  to  death§. 

The  nations  surrounding  the  Jews,  appear  to  have 
been  addicted  to  the  sacrifice  of  children.  Of  these, 
the  Canaanites  are  described  as  "  sacrificing  their 
"  sons  and  their  daughters  unto  devils,  and  shed- 
6i  ding  innocent  blood,  even  the  blood  of  their  sons  and 


*  Jer.  vii.  31.  &  xix.  5.  t  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  6.  2  Kings  xxi. 

|  2  Kings  xxiii.   0. 

I  Tac.  Hist.  Lib.  v.  ch.  5. 


15 

;fi  their  daughters,  whom  they  sacrificed  unto  the  idols 
«  of  Canaan.*" 

Among  the  Egyptians,  infants  were  treated  with 
more  humanity,  yet  instances  are  not  wanting  of  the 
greatest  cruelty  towards  them.  A  memorable  one 
is  found  in  the  commission  of  Pharaoh  to  the  midwives 
to  murder  all  the  male  offspring  of  the  Jews.  Their 
own  children,  however,  were  treated  with  greater  ten- 
derness, and  they  are  accordingly,  on  this  account, 
mentioned  with  honour  by  some  of  the  writers  of  other 
countries.  Strabo,  in  particular,  speaks  of  them  as  an 
honourable  exception  to  those  nations  who  exercised 
the  right  of  life  and  death  over  their  infantsf . 

Among  the  ancient  Persians,  it  was  a  common  cus- 
tum  to  bury  children  alive.  Herodotus  tells  us  of 
Amestris,  the  wife  of  Xerxes,  who,  at  an  advanced  age, 
ordered  fourteen  Persian  infants,  of  illustrious  birth, 
to  be  interred  alive,  in  honour  of  one  of  the  deities  of 
the  country  J. 

In  most  of  the  Grecian  States,  infanticide  was  not 
merely  permitted,  but  actually  enforced  by  law.  The 
Spartan  lawgiver  expressly  ordained,  that  every  child 
that  was  born  should  be  examined  by  the  ancient  men 
of  the  tribe,  and  that,  if  found  weak  or  deformed,  it 
should  be  thrown  into  a  deep  cavern  at  the  foot  of 
mount  Taygetus,  called  Apothetce,  "  concluding  its  life 
"  could  be  of  no  advantage,  either  to  itself  or  to  the  pub- 
i4  lie,  since  nature  had  not  given  it  at  first  any  strength 
"  or  goodness  of  constirution§."  This  practice  was  not, 
however,  upheld  merely  by  the  sanction  of  law ;  it 
was  defended  by  the  ablest  men  of  Greece.    Aristotle, 


*  Psalm  cvi.  37,  33.  f  Beckman  on  Invent,  vol.  4.  p.  435. 

t  Bejoe's  Herod,  vol,  4,  p.  37.      §  Plutarch  Vit.  Lycur.  vol.  1.  p.  142, 


16 

in  his  work  on  government,  enjoins  the  exposure  of 
children  that  are  naturally  feeble  and  deformed,  in  or- 
der to  prevent  an  excess  of  population.  He  adds,  "  if 
44  this  idea  be  repugnant  to  the  character  of  the  na- 
64  tion,  fix  at  least  the  number  of  children  in  each  fa- 
44  milj ;  and  if  the  parents  transgress  the  law,  let  it 
44  be  ordained,  that  the  mother  shall  destroy  the  fruit 
44  of  her  body  before  it  shall  have  received  the  princi- 
44  pies  of  life  and  sensation*. r  The  mild  Plato  also 
justifies  this  practice.  In  his  Republic,  he  directs  that 
44  children  born  with  any  deformity,  shall  be  removed 
"  and  concealed  in  some  obscure  retreatf." 

Of  the  existence  of  infanticide  at  Athens,  we  have 
the  testimony  of  the  comic  poets,  who,  in  describing  the 
manners  of  that  city,  frequently  allude  to  the  exposure 
of  children  J. 

The  following  quotation  from  a  Greek  writer,  shows 
the  extent  of  this  crime  as  it  actually  prevailed  ; 

T/ev  Tgedet  t;$,  xuv  we jijjs  rig  etv  rvxt) 
Qvyure^ec  yeitltQrivtk,  »«v  >i  Trtovctog. 

"  A  man,  though  poor,  will  not  expose  a  son;  but  if  rich,  he  will  scarcely 
preserve  a  daughter." 

Thebes ,  however,  exhibited  a  noble  contrast  to  the 
rest  of  Greece.  By  one  of  her  laws,  it  was  expressly 
forbidden  to  imitate  the  other  Grecian  cities,  who  ex- 
posed their  children  at  their  birth§. 

But  of  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  the  Romans  were 
the  most  unrelenting  in  their  treatment  of  infants.  The 
Roman  father  was  invested  with  an  absolute  authority 

*  Travels  of  Anacharsis,  vol,  6.  p.  270.  f  Ibid.  vol.  4.  p.  342. 

J  Vide  Quarterly  Rev.  vol.  2.  p.  389.  for  quotations  from  Terence  and 
Plautus. 

§  Travels  of  Anacharsis,  vol.  3.  p.  277. 


17 

over  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  his  children*,  and  we 
have  abundance  of  testimony  to  show  that  the  right 
was  commonly  exercised.  This  barbarous  prerogative 
was  co-eval  with  the  existence  of  Rome,  and  continued 
to  triumph  over  justice  and  humanity  during  the  lapse 
of  many  ages,  until  Christianity  wrested  it  from  her. 

Romulus  authorized  the  destruction  of  all  children 
that  were  deformed.  He,  however,  required  the  pa- 
rents to  exhibit  them  to  their  five  nearest  neighbours, 
and  to  obtain  their  consent  to  their  deathf.  The  law 
of  the  Twelve  Tables,  enacted  in  the  301st  year  of 
Rome,  sanctioned  the  same  barbarous  practice]:.  After 
this,  even  the  slight  restrictions  which  Romulus  had 
imposed  upon  parents,  appear  to  have  been  removed, 
and  an  unqualified  jurisdiction  surrendered  to  the  fa- 
ther over  the  lives  of  his  children,  even  after  they  had 
arrived  to  years  of  maturity.  Sallust  mentions  an  in- 
stance of  the  latter :  Fuere  tamen  extra  conjurationem 
complures,  qui  ad  Catalinam  initio  profecti  sunt :  in 
his  A.  Fulvius,  senatoris  filius;  quern  retractum  ex 
itinere,  parens  jus sit  necari.     Sallust.  Cat.  xxxix. 

The  procuring  of  abortion,  which  can  be  considered 
no  less  than  murder,  was  also  notoriously  prevalent 
among  the  Romans.  Juvenal  thus  speaks  of  that  ne= 
farious  practice : 

Hoe  tamen  et  partus  subeunt  discrimen  et  omnes 
Nutricis  tolerant,  fortuna  urgente,  labores 
Sed  jacet  aurato  idx  ulla  puerpera  lecto  ; 

*  The  right  of  parents  over  their  children  is  thus  stated  in  the  Justinian 
Institutes,  Lib.  1 .  Tit.  ix.  p.  22.  Cooper's  edit.  Jus  autem  potestatis, 
quod  in  liberos  habemus,  proprium  est  civium  Roinanorum ;  nulli  enim 
alii  sunt  homines,  qui  talem  in  liberos  habeant  potestatem,  qualem  nos 
habemus. 

t  Montesquieu's  Spirit  of  Laws,  vol.  1.  p.  104.  Lond. 

i  Cooper's  Justinian,  p.  659, 


18 

Tantum  artes  hujus,  tantum  medic amina  possunt, 
Quoe  steriles  facit,  atque  homines  in  "ventre  necandos 
Conducit*. Juv.  Sat.  vi.  v.  592. 

Minueius  Felix  thus  describes  the  barbarity  of  the 
Romans  hi  this  respect :  "  I  see  you  exposing  your 
"  infants  to  wild  beasts  and  birds,  or  strangling  them 
"  after  the  most  miserable  manner.  Nay,  some  of  you 
"  will  not  give  them  the  liberty  to  be  born,  but  by 
i;  cruel  potions  procure  abortion,  and  smother  the  hope- 
"  ful  beginning  of  what  would  come  to  be  a  man,  in  his 
"  mother's  wombf." 

Plinv  the  Elder  himself  defends  the  right  of  pa- 
rents to  destroy  their  children,  upon  the  ground  of  its 
being  necessary  to  preserve  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion within  proper  bounds. 

Such  was  the  practice  of  ancient  Rome  from 
her  first  origin  down  to  the  time  of  Constantine  the 
Great.  During  the  days  of  her  greatest  political 
grandeur  it  was  carried  to  the  highest  excess;  and 
whilst  she  was  boasting  of  her  refinement,  and  casting 
the  opprobrious  epithet  of  barbarian  on  all  around  her, 
she  wras  guilty  of  the  basest  profligacy,  and  the  most 
hardened  cruelty.  Christianity  first  opposed  a  barrier 
to  the  desolations  of  this  crime:  her  mild  and  hu- 
mane spirit  could  not  but  discountenance  it;  and  acc- 
ordingly it  animated  all  who  were  arrayed  un- 
der her  peaceful  banners,  to  exert  their  energies  in 

*  "  Yet  these,  though  poor,  the  pain  of  childbed  bear. 

And  without  nurses  their  own  infants  rear. 

You  seldom  hear  of  the  rich  mantle  spread 

For  the  babe,  born  in  the  great  lady's  bed. 

Such  is  the  power  of  herbs ;  such  arts  they  use 

To  make  them  barren,  or  their  fruit  to  lose." 

DrydtrOs  Juvenal. 
i  Octav.  Minucii  Felicis.  eh.  xxx. 


19 

arresting  its  progress,  The  Christian  writers  of  that 
day  are  full  on  this  point.  Tertuilian,  in  his  Apology, 
expresses  himself  with  heroic  boldness  on  this  subject; 
"  How  many  of  you,"  (addressing  himself  to  the  Ro- 
man people,  and  to  the  governors  of  cities  and  pro- 
vinces,) "  might  1  deservedly  charge  with  infant  mur- 
"  der ;  and  not  only  so,  but  among  the  different  kinds 
**  of  death,  for  choosing  some  of  the  crudest  for  their 
"  own  children,  such  as  drowning  or  starving  with  cold 
44  or  hunger,  or  exposing  to  the  mercy  of  dogs  ;  dj  ing 
"  by  the  sword  being  too  sweet  a  citath  for  children, 
44  and  such  as  a  man  would  choose  to  fall  by  sooner 
44  than  any  other  ways  of  violence.  But  Christians 
"  now  are  so  far  from  homicide,  that  with  them  it  is 
44  utterly  unlawful  to  make  away  a  child  in  the  womb, 
"  when  nature  is  in  deliberation  about  the  man;  for 
"  to  kill  a  child  before  it  is  born,  is  to  commit  murder 
"  by  way  of  advance;  and  there  is  no  difference,  whe- 
4f  ther  you  destroy  a  child  in  its  formation,  or  after  it 
"  is  formed  and  delivered  ;  for  we  Christians  look 
"  upon  him  as  a  man  who  is  one  in  embryo ;  for  he  is 
;4  a  being  like  the  fruit  in  blossom,  and  in  a  little  time 
"  would  have  been  a  perfect  man,  had  nature  met  with 
44  no  disturbances*." 

In  A.  D.  31o,  Constantino  the  Great  enacted  a  law 
providing  for  the  maintainance  and  education  of  those 
children  whose  parents  were  too  poor  to  do  the  samef. 
He  also  ordered  a  severe  punishment  to  be  inflicted  on 
a  cruel  father.  This  was  the  first  time  that  the  au- 
thority of  the  government  had  interposed  to  arrest 
this  crime  ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed,  that  a  custom 
which  had  become  so  familiar  to  all  the  habits  and  feel- 


*  Tertull.  Apol.  ch.  ix.  t  Ant.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  xv.  p.  576. 

C 


20 

ings  of  the  Roman  people  would  be  immediately  sup- 
pressed :  and  accordingly  we  find  that  it  still  continued 
to  prevail^  though  in  a  less  degree,  until  the  end  of  the 
4th  century,  when  it  was  finally  exterminated  by  the 
Emperors  Valentinian,  Valens,  and  Gratian. 

The  Phenicians  and  Carthagenians  were  in  the  ha- 
bit of  sacrificing  infants  to  their  gods.  The  latter  had 
a  law  by  which  four  children*  of  noble  birth  were  re- 
gularly immolated  upon  the  altars  of  Saturn.  History 
records  a  melancholy  instance  of  the  superstition  and 
cruelty  of  these  deluded  people.  It  is  related,  that  they 
attributed  their  defeat  by  Agaihocles,  king  of  Sicily, 
to  an  omission  of  these  sacrifices,  and  in  order  to  atone 
for  their  past  neglect,  they  offered  up,  at  one  time,  two 
hundred  of  the  sons  of  their  nobility. 

Silius  Italicus  notices  this  custom : 

11  Mos  fuit  in  populis,  quos  condidit  Advena  Dido, 
Poscere  caede  deos  veniam,  ac  flagrantibus  aris 
(Infandum  dictu)  parvos  iinponere  natos."     Lib.  4. 

The  ancient  Germans  ^  although  in  the  habit  of  sacri- 
ficing prisoners  taken  in  battle,  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  addicted  to  the  crime  of  infanticide.  Tacitus,  in 
describing  their  manners,  mentions  a  contrary  practice 
as  one  of  the  peculiarities  distinguishing  their  charac- 
ter :  ;i  Numerum  liberorum  finire,  ant  quenquain  ex 
"  agnatis  necare,  fiagitium  habeturf," 

Among  the  Visigoths,  the  murder  of  infants  was  a 
common  crime.  Chindaswinthus,  one  of  their  kings, 
in  his  laws,  describes  the  procuring  of  abortion,  as  well 
as  the  murder  of  children  after  they  are  born,  as  prac- 
tices that  were  prevalent  in  the  provinces,  and  denoun- 
ced severe  penalties  on  the  perpetrators  of  those  crimesj. 

*  An.  Univ.  Hist.  voi.  xvii.  p.  257.  t  De  Morib.  Germ.  xix. 

t  Kyan  on  the  Effects  of  Religion  on  Mankind,  p.  110. 


21 

But  infanticide  was  not  confined  to  the  ancients.  It 
has  descended  to  modern  nations,  and  at  the  present  day 
disgraces  Eastern  and  Southern  Asia  by  its  enormities. 
The  Chinese  are  notorious  for  their  cold  indiffer- 
ence in  the  exposure  and  murder  of  their  children. 
According  to  Mr.  Barrow,  the  number  of  children 
exposed  in  Pekin  alone,  amounts  to  9000  annual- 
ly. No  law  exists  to  prevent  it.  On  the  contra- 
ry, it  appears  rather  to  be  encouraged,  inasmuch  as 
persons  are  employed  by  the  police  of  the  city  to  go 
through  the  different  streets  every  morning  in  carts,  to 
pick  up  all  the  children  that  may  have  been  thrown 
out  during  the  night  "  No  inquiries  are  made;  but 
"  the  bodies  are  carried  to  a  common  pit  without  the 
"  walls  of  the  city,  into  which  all,  whether  dead  or 
"  living,  are  promiscuously  thrown*."  The  practice 
is  not  confined  to  the  Capital ;  it  prevails  also  in 
other  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  calculated  that  the 
number  of  infants  destroyed  in  Pekin,  are  about  equal 
to  that  of  all  the  rest  of  the  empiref.  Almost  all  those 
that  are  exposed  are  females.  The  causes  assigned 
for  its  prevalence,  are  extreme  poverty,  arising 
from  an  overgrowth  of  population;  frequent  and 
dreadful  famines  springing  from  the  same  cause; 
the  natural  coldness  of  affection  in  the  Chinese ;  to- 
gether with  the  sanction  of  custom,  and  the  want  of 
any  law  forbidding  it. 

Among  the  Hindoos,  infanticide  presents  itself  in  a 
form  still  more  horrible.  It  is  incorporated  into  their 
system  of  religion,  and  its  atrocities  are  beyond  de- 
scription.    The  blood  of  their  infants  seems  to  have 

*  Barrow's  Travels  in  China,  p.  113.      Am.  Ed. 

t  Ibid.  114.  Vide  also  De  Pjluw's  Philosophical  Dissert,  on  the  Egyptians 
and  Chinese 


22< 

quenched  completely  the  sacred  flame  of  humanity; 
while  the  lights  of  reason  and  truth  are  extinguished 
by  the  absurdities  of  superstition.   This  crime  has  exist- 
ed among  them  for  at  least  2000  years ;  for  Greek  and 
Roman  Historians  notice  it,  and  refer  to  some  of  the 
very  places  where  it  is  now  known  to  exist*.    The  num- 
ber of  infantile  murders  in  the  provinces  of  Cutch  and 
Guzerat  alone,  amounted,  according  to  the  lowest  cal- 
culation in  1807,  to  3000  annually  t-     According  to  an- 
other computation,  30,000.     Females  are  almost  the 
only  victims.     In  defence  of  the  practice,  they  urge  the 
difficulty  of  rearing  female  children,   the  expense  at- 
tending their  education,  and  the  small  probability  there 
is  of  their  ever  being  married j.     Within  a  few  years, 
through  the  benevolent  exertions  of  some  of  the  sub- 
jects of  Great  Britain,  infanticide  has  been  completely 
abolished  in  many  of  the  provinces.     Mr.  Duncan,  go- 
vernor of  Bombay,  Marquis  Wellesley,  and  Col.  Walk- 
er, were  the  persons  who  took  the  lead  in  this  affair, 
and  by  whose  energy  and  perseverance,   results,  so 
honourable  to  themselves,  and  which  may  be  expected 
to  have  a  beneficent  influence  on  the  progress  of  civi- 
lization, were  accomplished. 

In  Otaheite,  infanticide  is  so  common,  that  it  threatens 
the  complete  depopulation  of  the  Island.  According 
to  a  late  voyager§,  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  children 
born  are  destroyed.  The  effect  which  it  has  had  in 
diminishing  the  number  of  inhabitants  is  astonishing ; 
and  affords  a  strong  fact  in  refutation  of  the  doctrines 

*  Buchanan's  Researches  in  Asia,  Eng.  Ed,  p.  49. 

t  Ibid.  p.  49. 

$  Dr.  Buchanan  states,  that  two  modes  of  putting  the  child  to  death  are 
principally  prevalent.  As  soon  as  it  is  known  to  be  a  female,  a  piece  of 
opium  is  put  into  its  mouth ;  or  the  umbilical  cord  is  drawn  over  its  face? 
which,  by  preventing  respiration,  destroys  it.     Researches  in  Asia,  p.  47.- 

§  TurnbuIPs  Voyage  round  the  World  in  1800,  2,  3,  and  4. 


23 

of  Malthus  and  Hume,  who  maintain,  that  the  practice 
of  destroying  children  has  a  direct  tendency  to  aug- 
ment population. 

In  1774,  when  Captain  Cook  visited  the  Island,  he 
found  it  to  contain  204,000  souls*.  In  less  than  thirty 
years  after,  this  terrestrial  paradise,  blessed  with  a 
genial  climate  and  a  luxuriant  soil,  was  reduced  to 
5000  inhabitantsf.  Turnbull  relates,  that  "  the  Mis- 
"  sionaries  made  two  tours  whilst  he  was  in  the  Island, 
"  and  in  each  of  which  they  numbered  the  people ;  ae- 
"  cording  to  the  first  calculation,  they  were  7000,  but 
*;  in  the  last  they  very  little  exceeded  fiveX" 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  this  enormous  diminu- 
tion of  population  is  to  be  attributed  solely  to  this 
cause.  Other  causes  have  doubtless  co-operated,  par- 
ticularly certain  diseases,  which  prevail  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, such  as  fevers,  dysentery,  phthisis  pulmonalis, 
and  scrofula§.  All  travellers,  however,  who  have  vi- 
sited the  Island,  concur  in  the  opinion,  that  the  effects 
of  infanticide  are  infinitely  more  injurious  to  the  popu- 
lation than  all  the  other  causes  combined. 

The  natives  of  New  South  Wales  resort  to  violent  and 
unnatural  compression  of  the  body  of  the  mother,  in 
order  to  procure  abortion.  This  process  is  called  by 
them  Mee-bra.  Another  practice  still  more  shocking 
prevails,  of  burying  a  child  with  its  mother  if  she  hap- 
pens to  die|[. 

Among  the  Hottentots,  infanticide  appears  to  be  a 
common  crime.  Barrow  describes  a  race  of  them 
called  Bojesmans,  who  destroy  their  offspring  on  vari- 
ous occasions  :  as  "  when  they  are  in  want  of  food ; 

*  Cook's  2d  Voyage,  vol.  1.  p.  349.  t  Turnbull,  vol.  3,  p.  77. 

%  Ibid.  vol.  3,  p.  778.  $  Edinb.  Med.  &  Surg.  Jour.  vol.  2,  p.  234—90. 

(|  Collins'  Account  of  the  Colony  of  New  South  Wales,  p.  124.  5-  Edic 
Rev.  vol.  2,  p.  34. 


24 

a  when  the  father  of  a  child  has  forsaken  its  mother; 
*c  or  when  obliged  to  fly  from  the  boors  and  others; 
"  in  which  case,  they  will  strangle  them,  smother  themt 
"  cast  them  away  in  the  desert,  or  bury  them  alive*." 

The  Mahometans  do  not  appear  to  attach  any  cri- 
minality to  child-murder.  On  the  contrary,  the  very 
sources  of  honour  and  authority  among  them  are  pol- 
luted by  it.  Even  the  palace  of  the  Sultan  is  constant- 
ly stained  by  the  blood  of  infants.  Thornton  states, 
that  the  offspring  of  the  younger  princes  of  the  royal 
family,  who  are  kept  in  honourable  confinement  in  the 
palace,  are  destroyed  as  soon  as  they  are  bornf.  And 
Blacquiere  accounts  for  the  smallness  of  the  number  of 
children  belonging  to  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  from  the 
fact  of  his  encouraging  his  wives  to  evade  their  ac- 
couchementsf. 

Even  in  Iceland  we  find  traces  of  this  inhuman  crime ; 
that  island,  which  appeared  in  the  distant  horizon  as 
the  watch  tower  of  genius  and  learning,  at  a  time  when 
ignorance  and  superstition  waved  their  triumphant  ban- 
ners over  the  prostrate  glories  of  Europe  ;  along  whose 
majestic  mountains,  and  in  whose  sacred  retreats,  poesy 
was  still  heard  to  sing,  when  her  notes  were  lost  at 
Athens  and  at  Rome;  and  from  whose  shores  elo- 
quence continued  to  roll  her  thunders  over  the  billows 
of  the  ocean,  when  her  tongue  was  palsied  in  the 
forum  and  the  senate ;  even  in  this  island,  so  celebrated 
and  so  favoured,  the  detestable  crime  of  exposing  in- 
fants was  at  one  time  not  prohibited.  The  custom  ap- 
pears to  have  been  derived  from  their  Norwegian  an- 
cestors, amono;  whom  it  continued  to  prevail  for  nearly 

•  Barrow's  account  of  a  Journey  in  Africa  in  1801  &  2,  p.  378,  9. 

t  The  present  state  of  Turkey,  &c.by  Thomas  Thornton,  Esq.  vol.l,p.  120. 

|  Letters  from  the  Mediterranean,  by  E.  Blacquiere,  Esq.  toI.  1,  p.  90. 


25 

one  hundred  years  after  it  had  been  abolished  in  lee- 
land.  It  became  extinct  shortly  after  the  introduction 
of  Christianity  into  the  island,  which  event  took  place 
at  the  end  of  the  tenth  century*. 

If  we  turn  our  attention  from  the  Old  World,  and 
direct  it  to  the  New,  we  shall  find  this  crime  presenting 
itself  under  forms  no  less  horrible  and  disgusting. 

Among  the  natives  about  Hudson's  Bay,  it  is  common 
for  the  women  to  procure  abortion  by  the  use  of  a  cer- 
tain herb  which  grows  theref. 

In  Labrador,  the  Moravian  Missionaries  who  first 
landed  there,  found  it  a  prevailing  custom  to  put  to 
death  their  widows  and  orphans ;  not  to  gratify  a  na- 
tural ferocity  of  disposition,  but  merely  on  account  of 
a  supposed  inability  to  provide  the  means  of  support 
for  the  helpless  orphan  or  the  desolate  widow  of  an- 
other. By  the  exertions  of  the  Missionaries,  the  prac- 
tice was  arrestedf. 

IN  or  were  the  savages  of  these  inclement  regions  the 
only  people  who  were  guilty  of  this  horrid  crime.  The 
gloomy  superstition  of  the  Mexicans  delighted  in  hu- 
man sacrifices,  and  the  altars  of  their  Divinities  were 
continually  drenched  with  the  blood  of  infants  and  of 
men§.  The  number  of  these  sacrifices  has  doubtless 
been  exaggerated ;  but  the  fact  is  unquestionable,  thai 
countless  victims  poured  forth  their  lives  to  appease  or 
conciliate  their  imaginary  deities. 

The  mothers  in  California  are  described  as  volunta- 
rily destroying  their  offspring.     Venegas  states,  that 

*  Dr.  Holland's  Preliminary  Dissertation  on  the  Hist,  and  Lit.  of  Iceland, 
in  Sir  G.  Mackenzie's  Travels.     Edin.  2d  Ed.  p.  39. 

t  Ellis's  Voyage  to  Hudson's  Bay,  p.  198. 

J  Barrow's  Account  of  a  Journey  in  Africa  in  1801  and  2,  Edin.  Rev. 
vol.  8,  p.  438. 

$  Robertson's  Hist,  of  Amer.  vol.  3,  p.  325, 


26 

the  common  cause  of  it  was  a  scarcity  of  food,  and  that 
the  practice  was  put  a  stop  to  by  the  father  Salva- 
Tierra,  who  ordered  a  double  allowance  to  be  given  to 
women  newly  delivered*. 

Charlevoix  describes  a  race  of  Savages  in  North 
America,  who  make  a  practice  of  destroying  all  infants 
who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  their  mothers  before 
they  are  weaned ;  at  the  same  time,  they  inter  alive 
all  the  other  children,  upon  the  plea  that  no  other  fe- 
male can  nurse  them  properlyf. 

The  Peruvians,  whom  Dr.  Robertson  eulogizes  for 
the  mildness  of  their  manners,  and  the  benevolent  spi- 
rit of  their  religionj,  were  nevertheless  in  the  habit  of 
sacrificing  children.  Acosta  tells  us,  that  in  such  cases 
as  the  sickness  of  the  lnca,  or  doubtful  success  in  war 
and  other  affairs,  ten  children  were  sacrificed;  and 
upon  the  coronation  of  the  lnca,  200  were  offered  up. 
When  a  Peruvian  father  was  taken  sick,  he  sacrificed 
his  son  to  Viriachocha,  (the  sun,)  beseeching  him  to  ac- 
cept of  the  life  of  his  child  and  to  save  his  own§.  The 
same  writer,  when  comparing  the  Peruvians  and  Mexi- 
cans, describes  the  former  as  exceeding  the  latter  in 
the  sacrificing  of  children,  while  the  latter  were  chiefly 
addicted  to  the  sacrifice  of  men  taken  in  battle,  of  whom 
they  murdered  an  immense  number.  Robertson  en- 
deavours to  rescue  them  from  this  charge  by  invalidat- 
ing the  testimony  of  Acosta :  he  cannot,  however,  help 
confessing  that  the  practice  did  prevail  among  "  their 
"  uncivilized  ancestors,"  but  he  adds,  "  that  it  was  to- 

*  Hist,  of  California,  by  Miguel  Venegas,  London,  1759,  vol.  1,  p.  82.  In 
the  Library  of  the  New- York  Historical  Society. 

t  Journal  d'un  Voyage  a  L'Amerique  Septentrionale  ;  par  le  P.  De  Charle- 
voix, a  Paris,  1744,  torn.  3,  p.  368.     In  the  Library  of  the  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc'y, 

%  Hist,  of  Amer.  vol.  3,  p.  335,  &  Hist,  of  the  Indies,  1.  v.  c<  19- 


27 

f  tally  abolished  by  the  Incas,  and  that  no  human  vic- 
"  tim  was  ever  offered  in  any  temple  of  the  Sun."  He 
admits,  moreover,  that  "  in  one  of  their  festivals,  the 
"  Peruvians  offered  cakes  of  bread  moistened  with 
"  blood  drawn  from  the  arms,  the  eye  brows,  and  noses 
"  of  their  children.  This  rite  may  have  been  derived," 
he  says,  "  from  the  ancient  practice  in  their  uncivilized 
"  state,  of  sacrificing  human  victims*." 

Besides  those  that  have  been  enumerated,  travellers 
record  the  names  of  other  tribes  and  nations  inhabiting 
this  vast  continent,  who  murder  their  children  with 
impunity  and  without  remorse.  They  tell  us  of  the 
Mbiponians,  a  migratory  race,  inhabiting  the  province 
of  ChaCo  in  Paraguay,  among  whom,  mothers  have 
been  known  to  destroy  all  their  children  as  soon  as 
they  were  bornf .  And  of  the  Jlraucanians,  a  powerful 
nation  of  Chili,  who  permit  fathers  and  husbands  to 
kill  their  children  and  wivesj. 

But  it  is  unnecessary  to  extend  this  sketch  any  fur- 
ther. Enough  has  been  recorded  to  give  a  view  of 
the  wide  spread  desolations  of  this  unnatural  crime, 
certainly  too  much  for  the  honour  of  human  nature. 

*  ±iist.  of  America,  vol,  3,  p.  429.         t  Edin.  Encyciop.  Art.  Abiponians, 

f  Ibid.     Art.  America, 


CHAPTER  II. 


MEDICO-LEGAL    HISTORY. 

By  Infanticide,  in  its  most  extensive  signification,  is 
understood,  the  destruction  of  the  Fcetus  in  Utero,  or  of 
the  child  after  it  is  born.  It  therefore  includes  the  con- 
sideration of  the  various  means  bj  which  abortion  may 
be  procured,  and  the  characteristics  by  which  it  may 
be  known ;  as  also  the  signs  by  which  the  murder  of 
the  child  after  birth  may  be  detected. 


OF  ABORTION. 

Before  proceeding  to  an  enumeration  of  the  signs 
of  an  abortion,  it  may  be  proper  to  make  a  few  re- 
marks on  the  period  at  which  the  foetus  is  to  be  consider- 
ed as  alive.  In  reviewing  the  various  opinions  on  this 
subject,  we  shall  have  abundant  reason  to  confess,  that 
fancy  has  too  often  usurped  the  prerogative  of  reason, 
and  idle  speculation  has  been  substituted  in  the  place 
of  rational  investigation.  The  consequence  has  been, 
that  opinions  have  been  promulgated,  not  only  the 
most  erroneous  and  absurd  in  their  nature,  but  the 
most  dangerous  in  their  tendencies,  to  the  happiness  of 
individuals,  and  to  the  best  interests  of  community. 

The  ancients  were  by  far  the  most  extravagant  in 
their  notions  on  this  subject.      The  same  fundamental 


29 

error,  however,  pervaded  all  their  theories.  They 
believed  that  the  sentient  and  vital  principle  was  not 
infused  into  the  foetus  until  some  time  after  conception 
had  taken  place.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  exact 
time  at  which  this  union j  is  effected,  could  never  be 
satisfactorily  settled  by  them.  According  to  Hippo- 
crates, the  male  foetus  became  animated  in  thirty  days 
after  conception,  while  the  female  required  forty-two*. 
In  another  part  of  his  works  he  asserts,  that  this  does 
not  occur  until  the  perfect  organization  of  the  foetus. 

The  Stoics  believed  that  the  soul  was  not  united  to 
the  body  before  the  act  of  respiration,  and  consequent- 
ly, that  the  foetus  was  inanimate  during  the  whole  pe- 
riod of  utero-gestationf .  This  doctrine  prevailed  un- 
til the  reigns  of  Antoninus  and  Severus,  when  it  gave 
way  to  the  more  popular  sentiments  of  the  sect  of  the 
Academy  under  Zeno,  who  maintained,  that  the  foetus 
became  animated  at  a  certain  period  of  gestation.  The 
Canon  Law  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  also  distinguished 
between  the  animate  and  inanimate  foetus,  and  punished 
the  destruction  of  the  former  with  the  same  severity  as 
homicidej. 

Galen  considers  the  animation  of  the  foetus  to  take 
place  on  the  fortieth  day  after  conception,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  supposed  the  foetus  to  become  orgar>ized<§. 
Others  believed  shorter  periods  sufficient,  and  accord- 
ingly three  days  and  seven  have  respectively  had  their 
advocates||.  Another  contends,  that  eighty  days  are 
requisite  for  the  animation  of  the  female,  while  only 
forty  are  necessary  for  the   maleH.     Some  advocate 

*  Lib.  de  Nat.  Fuer.  Num.  10.       t  Plutarch's  Morajs  vol.  3,  p.  2b0.  Lond. 
i  P6  Zacchioe  Quaest.  Med.-Leg.  lib.  ix.  tit.  1,  2,  5,  p.  744.  Frankfort,  1688, 
§  Opera  Galeni,  de  Usu  Part.  lib.  15,  cap.  5.  Lugduni,  1643. 
||  P.  Zacchioe  Quaest.  Med.-Leg.  lib.  i.  tit.  2.  Q.  x.  p.  82. 
1  Ibid, 


30 

forty  days  as  sufficient  for  both*.  Others  again  make 
a  distinction  between  the  imperfect  embryo  and  the 
perfectly  formed  foetus,  and  consider  abortion  of  the 
latter  as  a  crime  deserving  the  same  punishment  as 
homicide;  a  distinction^ of  which,  it  is  justly  remarked 
by  a  celebrated  writer}"  on  medical  jurisprudence, 
44  ennemie  de  la  morale  et  de  Phumanite,  digne  de 
44  1'ignorance  et  des  prejuges  de  ses  auteurs." 

Amidst  these  discordant  sentiments,  Zacchias  offers 
himself  as  a  mediator,  and  proposes  sixty  days  as  the 
limit,  and  recommends  that  any  one  who  should  cause 
an  abortion  after  that  period,  whether  of  male  or  female, 
should  be  punished  for  homicide^. 

All  the  foregoing  opinions,  wholly  unsupported  either 
by  argument  or  experiment,  might  be  dismissed  with- 
out a  comment,  were  it  not  to  point  out  the  evils  to 
which  they  have  given  rise.  It  may  be  said  of  them 
with  perfect  truth,  that  their  direct  tendency  has  been 
to  countenance,  rather  than  to  discourage  abortion,  at 
least  in  the  earlier  stages  of  pregnancy.  On  a  sub- 
ject of  this  nature,  it  was  to  be  supposed  that  legal  de- 
cisions would  be  influenced  in  a  great  measure  bv  the 
opinions  of  Philosophers  and  Physiologists;  and  ac- 
cordingly, while  the  delusion  of  the  Stoics  continued  its 
sway,  the  law  could  view  nothing  very  criminal  in  wilful 
abortion§,  as  the  foetus  was  considered  merely  portio  vis- 
cerum  matris||.  And  afterwards,  when  the  Academicians 
flourished,  punishments  \  cry  different,  in  the  degree  of 
their  severity,  were  inflicted,  according  as  the  abor- 

*  P.  Zacchise  Queest.  Med.-Leg.  lib.  i.  tit.  2.  Q.  x.  p.  82. 
+  Fodere,  torn.  iv.  p.  384. 

$  Qusest.  Medico  Legal,  lib.  i.  tit.  2.  Q.  s.  p,  83. 

§  Traite  de  Medecioe  Legale  et  D'Hygiene  Publique,  &c.  Par.  F.  E.  Fo- 
der6,  torn.  iv.  p.  382. 
||  Plutarch's  Morals,  vol.  iii.  p.  £30. 


31 

tion  was  supposed  to  be  that  of  an  animate  or  inanimate 
foetus*. 

In  modern  times,  an  error  no  less  absurd,  and  at- 
tended with  consequences  equally  injurious,  has  re- 
ceived the  sanction,  not  merely  of  popular  belief,  but 
even  of  the  laws  of  most  civilized  countries.  The 
error  consists  in  denying  to  the  foetus  any  vitality  until, 
after  the  time  of  quickening.  The  codes  of  almost 
every  civilized  nation  have  this  principle  incorporated 
into  them,  and  accordingly,  the  punishment  which  they 
denounce  against  abortion,  procured  after  quickening, 
is  much  severer  than  before. 

The  English  Law,  "  considers  life  not  to  commence 
"  before  the  infant  is  able  to  stir  in  its  mothers  wombf.' 
The  law  of  Scotland,  adopting  the  creed  of  the  Stoics, 
believes  the  i'cetus  in  utero,  previous  to  quickening,  to 
be  merely  pars  viscerum  matris.  In  Saxony,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  disputes  of  medical  men  on  this  sub- 
ject, it  was  formally  decided,  that  the  foetus  might  be 
esteemed  alive  after  the  half  of  pregnancy  had  gone 

The  kbsurdfty  of  the  principle  upoto  which  these 
distinctTolp^aTe\Tounded,  is  ofWsy  demonstration. 
The  foetus,  previous  to  the  time  of  quickening,  must 
be  either  dead  or  alive.  Now,  that  it  is  not  the  former, 
is  most  evident  from  neither  putrefaction  nor  decom- 
position taking  place,  which  would  be  the  inevitable 
consequences  of  an  extinction  of  the  vital  principle. 
To  say  that  the  connection  with  the  mother  prevents 
this,  is  wholly  untenable.  Facts  are  opposed  to  it. 
Foetuses  do  actually  die  in  the  uterus  before  quickening, 
and  then  all  the  signs  of  death  are  present.      The  em- 

*  Traiie  de  Med.  Leg.  par  F.  E.  Fodere,  torn.  iv.  p.  S32. 
t  Blackstone's  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  England,  vol.  i.  p.  12! 
i  Specimen  Juridicum  Inaugurate,  p.  4G.    Lugduni  Batavorum,  1760 


32 

bryo,  therefore,  before  that  crisis,  must  be  in  a  state  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  death,  and  this  can  be  no  other  than 
life. 

But  if  the  foetus  enjoys  life  at  so  early  a  period,  it 
may  be  asked,  why  no  indications  of  it  are  given  be- 
fore the  time  at  which  quickening  generally  takes 
place?  To  this  it  may  be  answered,  that  the  absence 
of  any  consciousness  on  the  part  of  the  mother,  rela- 
tive to  the  motions  of  the  child,  is  no  proof  whatever 
that  such  motions  do  not  exist. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  in  the  earlier  part  of 
pregnancy,  the  quantity  of  the  liquor  amnii  is  much 
greater  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  foetus,  than  at 
subsequent  periods.  Is  it  not,  therefore,  rational  to 
suppose,  that  the  embryo  may,  atjjrst,  float  in  the 
waters  without  the  mother  being  conscious~of  its 
movements ;  but  that  afterwards,  when  it  has  increased 
in  bulk,  and  the  waters  are  diminished  in  proportion, 
it  should  make  distinct  and  perceptible  impressions  upon 
the  uterus? 

Besides,  it  should  not  be  forgotten,  that  foetal  life 
at  first  must  of  necessity  be  extremely  feeble,  and 
therefore,  it  ought  not  to  be  considered  strajbge,  that 
muscular  action  should  also  be  proportionably  weak. 

But  granting,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the 
foetus  does  not  stir  previously  to  quickening,  what  does 
the  whole  objection  amount  to  ?  Why,  only  that  one 
evidence  of  vitality,  viz.  motion,  is  wanting;  and  we 
need  not  be  told,  that  this  sign  is  not  essential  to  the 
existence  of  life*. 

The  incompleteness  of  the  embryo  previous  to  quick- 

*  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  real  nature  of  quickening.     It 

has  been  lately  suggested  by  a  writer,  that  it  is  altogether  independent  of  any 

motion  of  the  child,  and  that  it  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  sudden  rising  of  the 

Uterus  out  of  the  Pelvic  Cavity  into  the  abdomen*.     If  this  opinion  were  true, 

*  Lond.  Med.  and  Phys.  Journal,  vol.  27.  p.  441. 


33 

erring,  is  no  objection  to  its  vitality.  Life  does  not  de- 
pend upon  a  complication  of  organs ;  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  found  that  some  of  the  simplest  animals,  as  the 
polypi,  are  the  most  tenacious  of  life.  Besides,  upon 
this  principle,  vitality  must  be  denied  to  the  child  after 
birth,  because  many  of  its  bones,  as  well  as  other  parts 
of  its  body,  are  imperfect. 

Nor  is  the  want  of  organic  actwpfimy  argument  against 
this  doctrine.  Life  appears  todepend  essentially  as  lit-  \*^ 
tie  upon  organic  action,  afcs  it»aoes  upon  a  complication 
of  organs.  If  it  did,  the  foetus,  after  quickening,  would 
be  just  as  destitute  of  life  as  it  was  before ;  for  its 
brain,  lungs,  stomach,  and  intestinal  canal,  perform  no 
more  action  at  the  eighth  month  than  they  do  at  the 
third.  But  if  organic  action  be  essential  to  life,  how 
are  we  to  account  for  those  singular  cases  of  foetuses  J 
born  alive,  and  yet  destitute  of  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant organs  in  the  body,  such  as  the  head,  brain, 
&c.#  ?  and  how  are  we  to  explain  those  temporary  sus- 
pensions of  organic  action  in  the  bodies  of  adults  which 
sometimes  happen,  without  the  principle  of  life  being 
extinguished  ? 

The  observations  of  Physiologists,  tend  also  to  prove 
the  vitality  of  the  foetus  previously  to  quickening.     Ac- 
cording to  Blumenbachf,  blood  is  perceived  about  the 
■  ■ ■  ■       i  ■  ■  ■  ■  ,         1 1 

it  would  afford  another  incontrovertible  argument  in  favour  of  the  position 
which  I  have  advocated. 

Almost  all  writers  on  obstetrics,  however,  unite  in  referring  this  peculiar 
sensation  to  the  movements  of  the  child;  and  Mr.  Burns  particularly  cautions 
us  not  to  confound  this  "  foetal  motion  with  the  sensation  felt  by  the  mother 
"  from  the  uterus  rising  out  of  the  pelvis,  and  which  precedes  the  feeling  of 
"  fluttering*."  I  cannot  refrain  from  adding,  that  Dr.  Hosack,  who,  in  his 
extensive  practice,  has  enjoyed  the  best  opportunities  for  observation,  corn- 
curs  in  the  same  sentiment. 

*  Saumarez's  Physiology,  vol.  ii.  p.  21.  Review  of  Sir  E.  Home's  Paper 
on  the  Functions  of  the  Brain.     Edin.  Rev.  vol.  xxiv.  p.  439. 

t  Blumenbach's  Phys.  and  Richerand's  Phys. 

*  Bura'a  Principles  of  Midwifery,  p.  157.    Eng.  Ed.  1814. 


34 

seventeenth  day  after  conception,  together  with  the 
pulsation  of  the  heart,  and  not  long  after  the  different 
organs  have  commenced  their  developement.  Mauri- 
ceau  relates,  that  he  saw  a  foetus  of  about  ten  weeks, 
that  was  alive,  moved  its  arms  and  legs,  and  opened  its 
mouth*.  JJaller,  indeed,  asserted, "  that  all  the  viscera 
64  and  bones  oi^fe^future  fcetus,  nearly  fluid,  indeed,  and 
Vj^/  "  therefore  invisible^Naere  pre-formed  before  concep- 
ffrjCf/l&tT*  ^on  m  tne  maternal  gVm.*'  However  objectionable 
/  such  an  opinion  may  be,  yefrtke  fact  is  certain,  that  the 
embryo  enjoys  life  long  before  the  sensation  of  quickening 
is  felt  by  the  mother.  Indeed,  no  other  doctrine  appears 
to  be  consonant  with  reason  or  physiology,  but  that 
which  admits  the  foetus  to  possess  vitality  from  the  very 
moment  of  conception. 

If  physiology  and  reason  justify  the  position  just  laid 
down,  we  must  consider  those  laws  which  treat  with 
less  severity  the  crime  of  producing  abortion  at  an 
early  period  of  gestation,  as  immoral  and  unjust.  They 
tempt  to  the  perpetration  of  the  same  crime  at  one 
time,  which,  at  another,  they  punish  with  death.  In 
the  language  of  the  admirable  Percival,  "  to  extin- 
"  guish  the  first  spark  of  life,  is  a  crime  of  the  same 
"  nature,  both  against  our  Maker  and  society,  as  to 
"  destroy  an  infant,  a  child,  or  a  man ;  these  regular 
"  and  successive  stages  of  existence  being  the  ordi- 
"  nances  of  God,  subject  alone  to  his  divine  will,  and 
"  appointed  by  sovereign  wisdom  and  goodness  as  the 
"  exclusive  means  of  preserving  the  race,  and  multiply- 
"  ing  the  enjoyments  of  mankindf.'5 

Hippocrates  cherished  similar  sentiments,  and  he 
accordingly,  in  his  work  on  the  Oaths  and  Duties  of 

*  Burton's  Midwifery,  p.  88.  t  Percival's  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  430,  1. 


35  ***** 

Physicians,  expressly  forbids   the  attempt  at  abor- 
tion*. 

The  practice  of  causing  abortion  is  resorted  to  by 
unmarried  females,  who,  through  imprudence  or  mis- 
fortune, have  become  pregnant,  to  avoid  the  disgrace 
which  would  attach  to  them  from  having  a  living  child ; 
and  sometimes,  it  is  even  employed  by  married  women 
to  obviate  a  repetition  of  peculiarly  severe  labour-pains, 
which  they  may  have  previously  suffered.  But  abor- 
tion is  not  always  associated  with  crime  and  disgrace ; 
it  may  arise  from  causes  perfectly  natural  ancl  alto- 
gether beyond  the  control  of  the  female.  The  Phy- 
sician should,  therefore,  be  extremely  cautious  in  his 
proceediags,  even  in  cases  of  illegitimate  pregnancy, 
and  where  the  voice  of  popular  prejudice  seems  to  call 
upon  the  medical  witness  merely  to  confirm  its  pre- 
vious, and  often  false  decisions. 

^.^wo^uestions  demand  the  consideration  of  a  physi- 
cian called  to  a  reputed  case  of  abortion :    Has  the  w?o-A  cu/KI^u3L^: 
man  had  an  abortion  ?     By  what  means  was  it  brought 
about?     According  to  the  answers  given  to,  these  in- 
quiries must  his  testimony  be  regulated. 

Signs  of  abortion, — In  the  early  months  of  pregnancy, 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  ascertain  whether  an  abortion  %•¥ 

has  takewn^gge   or  not.     The  foetus  hks  scarcely  had 
time  to  make  those"  firm  attachments  which  af^erwa/ds 
unit^tfio  the  womb;  nor  has  it  attained  itVa  sufficient  >vn<, 
size  ^Kmct  thbj^||!kr^al\hanges  in  the  constitution^ 
of  the  mother ;  nor  those  local  alterations  from  the  dis-  - 
tention  of  the  uterus  and  abdomen,  which  are  after- 
wards produced.  Its  separation  is,  therefore,  unattend- 
ed by  violence,  and  leaves  but  faint,  if  any  traces  of  its 
previous  existence.     The  haemorrhage  attending  it  is 

•      *  M6d.  L6g.  par  FoderS,  torn.  iv.  p.  331. 


also  of  small  consequence,  as  the  uterine  vessels  have 
not  yet  sustained  any  particular  enlargement,  and, 
therefore,  speedily  contract. 

In  abortions  at  the  middle  or  end  of  pregnancy,  this 
obscurity  does  not  attend  us.  The  characteristics  are 
then  sufficiently  evident  for  our  guidance.  There  is 
considerable  haemorrhage  from  the  enlarged  vessels  of 
the  uterus  previously  to  the  contraction  of  the  womb ; 
^-there  is  an  offensive  discharge  of  blood  and  mucus 
from  the  vagina;  distinguished  from  the  menstrual 
flux  by  this  circumstance,  and  by  its  longer  continu- 
ance *the  menses  continuing,  usually,  only  three 
or  four  days,  while  the  lochia  do  not  cease  flow- 
ing under  seven  or  eight ; — the  vagina  is  considerably 
dilated,  and  the  os  uteri  open ; — the  labia  are«red,  soft, 
and  inflated  ; — the  breasts  are  swollen,  and  milk  flows 
from  them ; — the  areolae  of  the  nipples  are  larger  and 
darker  coloured  than  usual ; — and  the  abdomen  is  flac- 
cid, rugous,  and  pendulous*.  CM^d?**1* 
If  the  abortion  ends  in  the  death  of  the  mother,  1k& 
foli6"wilTg  appearances  will  be  recognized  on  dissection ; 
for  it  majL  sometimes  be  necessary  to  settle  the  point 
after  her  oeath,  as  in  cases  w-here  another  person  is 
accused  of  Having  procupefT it  by  the  administration  of 
medicines,  which  m^fnave  caused  not  only  the  death 
of  the  child,  OTffalso  of  the  mother.    ~fjfrftt~* 

ntheearlv  months,  no-esti  li'b'i  'd'i'hapy-'appearances 
Jo  beoetected :  as  the  foetus  wa#expelleiLj«raaps 
efore  the  placenta  was  *a T^lyE^w^r-^&gBB&f^  at- 
tached to  the  uterus,  so  that  its  separation  would  leave 
no  visible  mark  ;  and  from  its  smallness,  it  had  caused 


*  Vide  Zacchias'  Qusest.  Med.  Leg.  Fodere's  Med.  Leg.  Brendelius' 
Med.  Leg.  Burns'  Midwifery.  Males' JVfed.  Jurisprudence,  and  Dr.  String- 
ham's  MS.  Notes  on  Legal  Medicine. 


37 

no  distention  nor  thickening  of  the  uterus.  But  at  a  later  ^^  g^jl^ 
period,  the  uterus  is  found  enlarged  and  thickened — its  ^^^ 
muscular  fibres  are  more  evident,  and  its  blood  vessels 
and  lymphatics  much  augmented  in  size; — a  rough  sur- 
face is  found  where  the  placentalias  been  attached  ; — 
the  cervix  uteri  is  relaxed,  and  the  vagina  considerably 
dilated  ; — the  ligamenta  rotunda  are  relaxed,  and  the 
ligamenta  lata  nearly  effaced,  as  they  furnish  the  ute- 
rus with  its  external  covering.  Upon  examining  the 
ovaria,  if  it  be  done  a  short  time  after  the  ovum  has 
escaped  from  them,  a  corpus  luteum  is  found,  which 
vanishes  soon  after,  but  leaves  a  scar  for  life.  ^ 

Such  are  the  evidences  furnished  by  dissection; 
and  where  they  are  found,  afford  incontestable 
proof  of  the  previous  existence  of  a  foetus  in  the 
uterus.  I  know  that  objections  have  been  urged 
against  their  validity.  A  late  English  writer  on 
this  subject,  says,  "  that  the  distention  of  the  uterus 
M  might  arise  from  hydatids,  or  moles,  and  the  inequali- 
"  ty  of  its  interna!  surface,  occasioned  by  their  attach- 
"  ment#  "  And  even  with  regard  to  the  corpora  lutea, 
he  appears  to  be  inclined  to  the  belief  that  they  may  ex- 
ist in  virgins.  Let  us  examine  this  objection  for  a  mo- 
ment.— That  the  enlargement  of  the  uterus,  the  relaxa- 
tion of  the  cervix  uteri  and  ligamenta  rotunda,  as  well  as 
the  obliteration  of  the  ligamenta  lata,  maybe  occasioned 
by  the  causes  here  assigned,  will  not  admit  of  any  dis- 
pute; but  the  other  phenomena  cannot  possibly  be  ex- 
plained, unless  by  admitting  pregnancy  to  be  the  cause. 
Hydatids,  although  not  of  frequent  occurrence,  are  some- 
times found  in  the  uterusj ;  but  they  can  never  occasion 

*  MedicaiJurisprudence,  by  Males,  p.  120. 

t  A  case  is  related  in  the  Med,  k  Philos,  Register,  by  Drs.  Hosack  and 
Francis,  vol.  iv.  p.  519. 

P 


*\  •«, . 


38 

\    *  ^e  P^acenta^  mark,  the  preternatural  enlargement  of 

the  uterine  vessels,  nor  the  corpora  lutea.  This  will  ap- 
pear obvious  from  the  following  facts.  The  placental  sur- 
face is  between  four  and  and  five  inches  in  diameter.  Now 
if  any  degree  of  credit  is  to  be  attached  to  the  descriptions 
given  by  distinguished  Physicians  of  hydatids,  they  are 
never  attached  by  so  extensive  a  surface.  Dr.  Den- 
man,  in  relating  a  case  of  this  kind,  says  that  the  "  hy- 
"  datids,  or  small  vesicles,  hung  together  in  clusters 
"  from  one  common  stem,  and  containing  a  watery 
"  fluid*."  According  to  Dr.  Baillie,  the  celebrated 
anatomist,  "  they  consist  of  vesicles  of  a  round  or 
"  oval  shape,  with  a  narrow  stalk  by  which  they  ad- 
"  here  to  the  outside  of  one  another.  Some  of  these 
"  hydatids  are  as  large  as  a  walnut,  and  others,  as 
"  small  as  a  pin's  head.  A  large  hydatid  has  generally 
"  a  number  of  small  hydatids  adhering  to  it  by  a  narrow 
"process^."  From  these  descriptions,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  surface  caused  by  the  attachment  of  hydatids 
to  the  uterus,  must  be  very  different  from  that  of  the 
placenta.  It  would  indeed  be  absurd  to  imagine  that 
this  narrow  stalk  could  be  of  such  magnitude  as  to 
have  a  diameter  of  four  or  five  inches.  No  less  ab- 
surd is  it  to  suppose  that  hydatids  can  cause  such  an 
enlargement  of  the  uterine  vessels  as  takes  place  in 
cases  of  pregnancy;  for,  from  their  very  constitution, 
they  cannot  require  any  thing  like  the  quantity  of  blood 
which  is  necessary  to  support  the  growth  of  a  fcetusj. 

*  Introduction  to  the  Practice  of  Midwifery,  vol.  i.  p.  117. 

f  Morbid  Anatomy. 

\  These  were  substantially  the  grounds  upon  which  the  Medical  witnesses, 
at  the  late  celebrated  Trial  of  Charles  Angus,  Esq.  of  Liverpool,  for  the  mur- 
der of  Miss  Burns,  in  1808,  declared  their  belief  of  her  having  been  pregnant. 
Dr.  Carson  alone  objected,  and  stated,  that  he  believed  hydatids  might  have 
cauied  the  appearances  in  the  uterus.     This,  together  with  his  testimony  cc- 


39 

With  regard  to  the  corpora  lutea,  the  experiments  of 
De  Graaf  upon  rabbits,  long  since  proved  that  their 
existence  is  a  certain  indication  of  previous  impregna- 
tion; and  the  recent  experiments  of  Dr.  Haighton  con- 
firm the  same  doctrine*. 

The  preceding  observations  will  apply  also  to  moles, 
although  not  with  equal  force.  But  in  all  cases  of  this 
kind,  where  the  symptoms  of  pregnancy  are  said  to 
arise  either  from  moles  or  hydatids,  it  is  reasonably  to 
be  expected  that  they  should  be  produced  in  evidence. 
If  they  are  not,  this  very  fact  would  justify  more  than 
a  suspicion  of  guilt;  for  no  other  cause  could  be  assign- 
ed for  the  concealment  of  a  circumstance  which  would 
at  once  place  the  innocence  of  the  accused  upon  an  un-  +^  1^ 
shaken  basis.   ffitAAjl  ^    \~h~- 

Sucfc,are  the  signs  by  which  an  abortion  may  be  re-         /A^v, 
cognized.  Nothing,  however,  can  be  learned  from  them 
as  to  the  cause  of  it,  for  the  symptoms  of  natural  and 
unnatural  abortion  are  precisely  the  samef. 

A  Physician,  when  called  to  a  case  of  abortion, 
is  usually  directed  by  practical  writers,  to  maka^<|j§L  ^i 
his  examinations  as  speedily  as  possible  after  the 
event  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place,  as  all  the 
parts  from  which  any  inference  can  be  drawn,  soon  ^Jlt  JK 
return  to  their  natural  dimensions,  and  then  all  the 
signs  become  obscured.  The  time  in  which  this  takes 
place  is  variously  stated.  According  to  Zacchias,  the 
signs  are  most  conspicuous  during  the  first  ten  days,  and 


cerniog  the  perforation  of  her  stomach,  cleared  the  accused.  Vide  a  most 
able  and  triumphant  vindication  of  the  other  Medical  witnesses,  written  by 
Dr.  Bostock,  Liverpool,  1808.  Also,  an  article  on  this  subject  in  the  New 
England  Journal,  vol.  vi.  No.  2,  by  T.  R.  Beck,  M.  D.  &c. 

*  Burns1  Midwifery,  Note  by  Dr.  Chapman,  p.  129, 

t  Males'  Med.  Jurisp.  p.  119. 


4- 


40 

after  that,  they  gradually  diminish  to  the  fortieth*. 
Bums  says  it  is  a  month"  liiTeTTtelivery,  at  least,  before 
the  womb  returns  to  its  unimpregnated  state")".  Dr. 
B  -stock  states,  that  the  complete  contraction  seldom 
takes  place  "  in  less  than  eighteen  dajs,  and  it  is  often 
t;  morej." 

The  causes  of  abortion  come  next  to  be  considered. 
These  are  various,  and  it  requires  the  exercise  of  the 
Physician's  acutest  sagacity,  to  enable  him  to  dis- 
criminate  in  such  a  manner  as  to  decide  correctly. 
They  all.  however,  appear  to  act  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciple, viz.  that  of  interrupting  the  process  of  gestation, 
and  exciting;  the  uterus  to  premature  contraction  upon  its 
contents,  so  as  to  expel  them.  The  criminal  means  that 
have  been  resorted  to  for  tlns/pdrro^.  are.  repeated 
venesection:  drastic  purges;  powerful  erne  cics  ;  mer- 
curial salivation;  diuretics;  emmenagogues;  violent 
exercise;   and  e]ectricity§. 

It  may  be  remarked,  that  all  these  act  primarily 
upon  the  general  constitution,  and  produce  their  ef- 
jL^»iects  upon  the  uterus,  onlv  in  consequence  of  the  svm- 
/  Apathy  existing  between  it  and  the  other  organs  in  the 
body.  t]t  nee  it  has  been  noticed  by  practical  ob- 
servers, that  all  of  them  will  fail  in  producing  the  in- 
tended effect,  unless  used  to  such  an  extent,  as  at  the 
same  time  to  endanger  the  life  of  the  mother!),  or  un- 
less she  labours  under  a  previous  pre-disposition  to 
abortion^ 


*   Euros'  Midwifery,  p.  515. 

t  Quaint.  Med.  Leg   lib.  iii.  tit.  2.  Q.  is.  p.  303. 

\  Vindicationrof  the  Medical   witnesses  on  the  Trial  of  C.  Ansus.  Esq.  for 
the  murder  of  Miss  Burn;.     Liverpool.  1808. 

!   y.il.  Le_-  parFodere,  torn,  iv  p.  423.       Males'  Medical  Jurisprudence, 
and  Stringharn's  MS.  Xo-es  on  Leg.  Medicine. 
1  [6d.  Lej.  par  Fodere\  torn.  iv.  p.  434. 


i^rc^ 


:\ 


41 

But  there  are  other  means,  more  local  in  their  ope- 
ration, and  far  more  certain  in  their  results;  as  hows 
on  the  abdomen  and  lumbar  region;  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  an  instrument  into  the  womb,  which,  by  rup- 
turing the  membranes,  destroys  the  child.  In  France 
and  some  other  European  countries,  this  latter  me- 
thod has  been  extensively  adopted,  and  has  been 
attended  with  the  most  fatal  success.  In  this  class 
of  abortives,  I  am  induced  also  to  place  ergot  or 
spurred  rye,  an  article  which  has  lately  been  intro-  y  C*  £  W 
duced  into  our  Materia  Medica,  and  which  has  a  most  r*\  . 
wonderful  power  in  exciting  uterine  actions*.  *J^r 

The  natural  causes  of  abortion  should  always  be  kept 
in  view  in  medico-legal  investigations  on  this  subject, 
so  that  we  may  not  attribute  to  criminal  interference, 
what  is  owing  to  some  morbid  derangement.  Diseases 
of  various  kinds,  as  rheumatism,  pleurisy,  small-pox,  ty- 
phus and  yellow  fevers,  scarlatina,  syphilis,  and  mea-  ^ 
sles,  operating  on  a  system  pre-disposed  by  nervous 
irritability;  a  diseased  state  of  the  uterus  ;  the  intempe- 
rate use  of  spirituous  liquors,  or  of  certain  medicines,  • 
particularly  iron  and  mercury ;  irritation  of  the  neigh- 
bouring organs,  from  costiveness,  tenesmus  of  dysen- 
tery, hcemorrhoids,  prolapsus  ani,  piles,  diarrhoea,  incon- 
tinence of  urine,  and  the  excessive  use  of  aloetic  medi- 
cines; errors  in  regimen  and  diet;  violent  exercise, 
as  in  walking,  dancing,  riding,  running,  &c. ;  accidental 
falls ;  a  sudden  contortion  or  shockf  of  the  body ;  in- 

*  Dr.  Hosack  has  just  favoured  me  with  the  account  of  an  abortion  occa- 
sioned by  the  imprudent  administration  of  this  substance,  to  accelerate  the 
delivery  of  a  woman  in  this  city.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  that  an  article  of  such 
prodigious  power  as  this  appears  to  he,  might  be  used  with  more  caution  :  at 
any  rate,  there  should  be  some  legal  prohibition  against  its  indiscriminate  pre- 
scription by  Old  Women  and  Quacks. 

t  The  pulling  of  a  tooth,  for  instance,  has  been  known  to  produce  abor- 
tion.    Burns  on  Abortion,  p.  64. 


* 


42 

diligence  of  any  violent  passion  of  the  mind,  whether 
joyful  or  sad ;  the  relation  of  any  unexpected  intelli- 
gence ;  a  great  noise ;  the  appearance  of  any  extraor- 
dinary object;  the  refusal  of  any  particular  article  of 
diet  which  she  may  desire ;  previous  abortion ;  fluor 
albus ;  excessive  venery ;  accidental  blows  on  the  ab- 
domen ;  the  death  of  the  foetus  ;  the  attachment  of  the 
placenta  over  the  os  uteri;  retroversion  of  the  womb; 
haemorrhage,  from  whatever  source  or  at  any  period*  ; 
all  or  any  of  these  causes  may  give  rise  to  abortion,  with- 
out the  imputation  of  the  least  criminality  to  the  female. 
The  influence  of  the  passions  upon  the  uterine 
functions  is  peculiarly  striking.  Dr  Hosack  describes 
the  contagious  effects  of  sympathy,  as  he  witnessed 
them  on  a  large  scale  in  the  Infirmary  of  Edinburghf. 
It  is  an  extraordinary  fact,  that  the  melancholy  and 
sadness  caused  by  some  great  evil  which  is  known  and 
expected,  are  much  less  injurious  to  a  pregnant  wo- 
man, than  the  annunciation  of  some  important  good,  or 
even  a  trifling  misfortune  which  is  unexpected.  Fodere 
relates  the  case  of  some  pregnant  women,  who,  during  the 
horrors  of  the  French  revolution,  were  confined  in  dun- 
geons and  condemned  to  death;  their  execution  was, 
however,  delayed  in  consequence  of  the  peculiarity  of 
their  situation.  Yet  notwithstanding  the  actual  wretched- 
ness of  their  condition,  and  the  more  terrible  anticipa- 
tion of  future  suffering,  they  went  on  to  the  full  time, 
during  which  period,  a  fortunate  change  in  the  state  of 
parties  rescued  them  from  unmerited  punishment^. 


*  M6d.  Leg.  par  Fodere,  torn.  iv.  p.  422.  Burton's  Midwifery,  p.  281. 
Burns'  Midwifery,  p.  161.  Burns  on  Abortion.  Hamilton's  Midwifery. 
Hosack's  MS.  Notes  on  Midwifery. 

t  MS.  Notes  of  Lectures  on  Midwifery. 

I  Med.  Leg.  torn.  iv.  p.  422. 


ill-fated  moment  to  the 
maining  spark   of  virtuous 


43 

Having  thus  concisely  noticed  the  signs  and  causes  of 
abortion,  I  shall  make  a  remark  or  two  upon  the  cir- 
cumstantial evidence  which  ma}  be  adduced  to  prove  the 
guilt  of  the  woman. 

1.  She  is  accused  of  having  concealed  her  pregnancy. — 

•al  enough.     Indeed  it  is 

wonderful  that  a  circumstancjb  of  this  kind  should  ever 
have  been  considered  the  least  proof  of  guilt.  That 
must,  indeed,  be  a  female  lo/st  to  all  shame  and  sensi- 
bility, who  would  proclaim  Iter  condition  before  it  was 
no  longer  in  her  power  to  conceal  it.  Even  when  she 
knows  it  must  soon  be  developed,  it  is  the  dictate  of 
human  nature  to  protract 
last.  It  is  in  truth  the  r 
feeling  which  prompts  hey  actions 

2.  But  she  has  made  not preparation  for  confinement. — 
This  is  generally  esteemed  a  most  essential  point  in 
determining  the  guilt  ok  innocence  of  the  female ;  but 
certainly  without  the  least  foundation  in  justice.  No- 
thing is  more  inconclusive;  a  designing  woman  may  pro- 
cure an  abortion,  and  yet  have  provided  clothes,  &c. 
for  lying  in,  for  the  purpose  of  imposing  upon  the  jury. 
While  an  unfortunate  female,  for  the  first  time  in  this 
situation,  might  be  unacquainted  with  the  necessary 
preparation,  or  with/ the  time  when  they  might  be 
wanted,  while  the  timidity  natural  to  the  sex,  and  her 
wish  to  conceal  her  infamy,  might  deter  her  from  ask- 
ing counsel  from  otHers^ 

3.  SUe  $iq^  Aa^eUei^l^j^f^r}%ular  disease. — This 
also  is  inconclusive/;  as  it  arises  from  her  wish  to  con- 
ceal her  situation.  / 

The  most  important  inquiries  to  be  made,  relate  to  the 
means  she  may  haue  adopted  to  bring  about  an  abortion. 
If  she  has  applied^requently  to  the  same  or  to  different 


14 

Physicians  to  be  bled,  especially  in  the  foot; — if  she 
has  endeavoured  to  procure  any  of  the  medicines  usu- 
ally given  to  produce  this  effect; — if  any  are  found  in 
her  possession,  or  if  she  can  be  convicted  of  actually 
taking  them  without  medical  advice  ;  we  have  then  the 
strongest  circumstantial  evidence  which  the  nature  of 
the  case  admits  of,  to  pronounce  her  intention  to  have 
been  criminal.  These  are  circumstances,  however, 
which  do  not  strictly  come  under  the  cognizance  of 
the  professional  witness ;  they  are  matters  of  fact, 
which  must  be  decided  upon  from  the  testimony 
"which  may  be  offered  by  the  other  witnesses  cited  to 
appear  in  the  case. 

Nothing,  1  believe,  is  to  be  learned  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  cause  of  an  abortion,  whether  it  is  criminal  or 
natural,  from  any  examination,  of  the  foetus,  as  its  ap- 
pearance will  be  very  much  the  same,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  cause  of  its  expulsion  from*the  womb, 


OF  THE  MURDER  OF  THE  CHILD  AFTER  IT  IS  BORN. 

Several  questions  here  demand  consideration  :  Was 
the  woman  really  pregnant?  Has  she  been  delivered  of  a 
child?  Was  the  child  born  alive?  Was  it  capable  of 
living  after  birth  ?  What  wereJhe  means  used  to  termi- 
natf  its  existence?  ^tf%mfil  A«*  1$&7 

1.  Of  the  signs  of  pregnancy. — It  is  a  matter  of  con- 
siderable importance  to  be  assured  that  the  accused 
was  really  pregnant,  as  not  unfrequently  many  of  the 
symptoms  of  it  are  present  without  the  reality.  This 
is  particularly  important  in  those  cases  where  the  child 


45 

cannot  be  produced.  It  is  not  necessary,  in  this  place, 
to  recount  the  signs  by  which  this  may  be  known.  It 
will  not,  however,  be  irrelevant  to  state,  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  fasten  upon  any  individual  symptom  which 
shall  universally  characterize  it.  Even  when  a  num-  i#* 
ber  of  them  have  concurred  to  induce  the  belief  of  its 
existence,  mistakes  have  occasionally  been  committed, 
and  pregnant  women  have  been  tapped  for  dropsy, 
and  diseased  women  imagined  themselves  with  child*. 

II.  Of  the  signs  of  delivery. — These  may  be  summed 
up  under  the  following  heads  : 

1.  An  extraordinary  enlargement  of  the  external  or- 
gans of  generation,  occasioned  by  the  irritation  and      — 
distension  during  labour. 

S.  A  preternatural  distention  of  the  vagina,  from  the 
same  cause. 

3.  The  os  uteri,  is  dilated  so  as  to  admit  two  or 
more  fingers,  its  shape  is  nearly  circular,  and  it  has  a 
soft  and  tumid  feeling. 

4.  The  flowing  of  the  lochia,  which  are  distinguish- 
ed from  the  menstrual  discharge  by  their  being  of  a 
paler  colour;  having  a  peculiarly  disagreeable  smell; 
and  by  their  duration. 

5.  An  enlargement  and  hardness  of  the  breasts,  ac- 
companied with  a  secretion  of  milk. 

6.  Dark  colour  of  the  areolce.  Of  this  sign,  Dr, 
Stringham  remarks,  "  I  do  not  know  an  instance  to  in- 
"  validate  it.  It  does  not  take  place  when  milk  is  se« 
"  creted  from  any  other  causef."     And  lastly, 

'.  '; I  

i  '  '         ""  ■ 

*  Zacchias  treats  at  full  length  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  signs  of  pregnancy. 
Quaest.  Med.  Leg.  lib.  i.  tit.  3,  Q.  1,  2,  p.  86^-97.  Vide  also,  Burns'  Mid- 
wifery; Hosack's  MS.  Notes  on  Midwifery;  and  Stringham's  MS.  Notes  on 
Legal  Medicine. 

+  Dr.  Stringham's  MS.  Notes  on  Le^al  Med. 


■hL4-£*ht£ 


~/**~ 


/• 


46 

7.  The  abdomen  is  prominent,  and  the  integuments 
flaccid  and  wrinkled,  and  marked  by  whitish  lines,  call- 
ed the  linece  albicantes.  These  lines,  however,  are  no 
evidence  of  delivery  having  taken  place  recently.  They 
sometimes  remain,  after  a  first  delivery,  for  life*. 
%  Such  is  the  evidence  to  be  obtained  from  an  exami- 

nation of  the  mothW.     But  in  cases  where  the  child  is 
not  to  be  found,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  how  ro- 
i/^Wi^/    mantic  and  even  criminal  it  would  be  in  the  Physician,  to 
-     /      give  an  opinion  upon  it,  which  might  hazard  the  life  of 
0    I*  **~T  a  human  being.     Ciuld  he  attain  to  certainty  concern- 
ing her  pregnancy  and  delivery,  the  very  absence  of 
the  child  might  be  Considered  one  of  the  strongest 
proofs  of  guilt. — But\  in  how   many  cases  is  this  cer- 
tainty never  to  be  o  brained  !     So  many  are  the  morbid 
conditions  of  the  body)  with  which  Uniay  be  confound- 
ed, and  so  indistinct  are  the  signs  themselves   some- 
times, that  ingenuity  and  experience  are  often  baffled, 
and  forced  to  confess  their  ignorance. 

III.  Of  the  child  having  been  born  alive.— We  know 
nothing  of  th^  nature  of  life  :  we  judge  of  it  only  from 
its  effects,  anq  declare  that  being  as  enjoying  it,  who 
performs  the  \functions  considered  essential  to  it.— - 
These  functions  are  called  vital,  and  are  usually  enu- 
merated as  the \ three  following,  viz.  the  cerebral  and 
nervous;  the  '-sanguineous ;  and  the  respiratory.  This 
distribution  can  otaly  apply,  however,  to  the  state  after 
birth :  in  the  fcetaftstate,  facts  would  seem  to  prove,  that 
nothing  besides  tna  circulation  of  the  blood  is  necessary 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  vital  principle.  Even  the 
energy  of  the  brainAwhich  is  afterwards  to  determine 
the  character, and  in  a  great  measure  to  fix  the  destiny  of 

*  Farr's  Med.    Jurisprudence;    Fodere's   Med.  Leg.;    Brendelius'    Med 
Leg,;  and  Burns'  Mid, 


47 

the  being  it  inhabits,  is  originally  dormant,  and  the 
organ  itself  occasionally  wanting.     In  cases  of  infanti- 
cide, it  is  only  from  the  circulation,  and  respiration,  that 
any  thing  is  to  be  learned  :  the  brain  and  nerves  leave  no* , .  * 
trace  of  their  influence  behind  them* 

Of  the  blood  having  circulated  after  birth. — There  are 
two   circumstances  from  which  a  conclusion  on  this" 
point  may  be  drawn ; — the  appearance  of  the  blood 
itself,  and  the  ecchymoses  on  the  body  of  the  child. 

1.  The  difference  between  the  blood  of  the  fetus, 
and  the  child  after  birth,  has  been  particularly  noticed 
by  Bichat.  He|  made  numerous  dissections  of  young 
guinea  pigs  while  yet  in  the  womb  of  their  mother,  and 
he  uniformly  found  the  blood  of  the  arteries  and  veins 
presenting  the  same  appearance,  resembling  the  venous 
blood  of  the  adufe.  He  made  the  same  observations 
in  three  experiments  of  a  similar  nature  which  he  made 
upon  pups.     He   also  frequently  dissected  human  fee-  ft  ' 

tuses  who  had  died  in  the  womb,  and  found  the  same  (fa* 
uniformity  in  the  arterial  and  venous  blood.     Frem^^*     i 
-JJafesa  experimetrtgrhe--e4i&&ludes.  that  no  difference  ex-     — —  %AD 
ists  between  the  arterial  and  venous  blood  of  the  fcetus? 
at  least  in  external  appearance*. 

The  chemical  constitution  of  the  blood  of  the  foetus 
appears  also  to  differ  from  that  of  the  child  after  birth, 
or  the  adult.  Fourcroy,  in  analyzing  it,  found  it  des- 
titute of  fibrous  matter,  as  well  as  of  the  phosphoric 
salts  which  are  always  detected  in  the  blood  of  the 
adult.  He  also  discovered,  that  it  was  incapable  of 
becoming  florid  by  exposure  to  the  influence  of  atmos- 
pheric air. 

These  facts  prove  decidedly,  that  there  is  a  differ-  ^ 

*  Anatomie  Generate  appliquee  a  la  Physiolojrie  et  a  ja  Medecine ;  par  Xav, 
Bichat,  torn.  ii.  p.  343,  4,  5,  a  Paris,  1801. 


48 


/t 


enee  between  the  blood  of  a  child  that  dies  in  the 
womb,  and  one  which  is  born  alive  and  has  respired ;  and 
>^  '""        this  circumstance  may  be  used  as  a  criterion,  by  which 
fctffa&f*  to  determine  whether  it  was  possessed  of  life  after 
i  +lci&i>~fc-'  birth.     I  know  not  that  this  test  has  ever  been  intro- 
^^duced  into  medico-legal  investigations,  m  cases  of  in- 
fanticide.    Perhaps  it  is  one  too  delicate  to  be  alto- 
gether trusted,  especially,  as  we   have  others  more 
""^      /plain  and  obvious,  and   which  may  be  more  easily  em- 

2.  Ecehymoses  or  extravasations  of  blood  on  the 
ffiZx^body  of  the  child,  produced  by  blows  or  other  injuries, 
,  prove  that  it  enjoyed  vitality  at  the  time  they  were  in- 
flicted ;  for  in  a  dead  child,  as  the  blood  has  ceased  to 
circulate,  it  could  not  flow  to  the  injured  part,  and  there- 
fore there  would'v  be  no  appearance  of  extravasation. 
Professor  Mahani  mentions  another  possible  cause  of 
such  extravasations,  which  should  not  be  overlooked. 
He  says  it  matf  result  from  putrefaction,  which,  by 
means  of  the  ai  ™  that  is  generated,  bursts  the  veins, 
and  then  blood  rom  xery  distant  parts  of  the  bodyis 
insensibly  carriec  along  to  this  outlet,  so  as  to  form  a 
considerable  extravasation*.  It  could  not  certainly  be 
very  difficult  to  liscriminate  in  a  case  of  this  kind,  yet 
it  teaches  us  a  practical  caution  of  some  consequence, 
which  is,  to  pa)  particular  attention  to  those  circum- 
stances which  t(  nd  to  favour  the  process  of  putrefac- 
tion, as  the  clim  ite,  season  of  the  year,  and  place  where 
the  body  is  fourid. 

Of  the  child  having  respired  after  birth. — The  act  of 
respiration  constitutes  the  great  distinguishing  feature 
between  adult  and  fcetal   life,      its  commencement  is 


f 


m 


Medecime  L6gale,  et  Police  Medicale,  de  P.  A.  O.  Mahon,  torn.  ii.  p. 


49  '   f,     fc 

succeeded  by  revolutions  in  the  animal  economy,  the 
most  wonderful  and  interesting.  The  pulmonary  sys- 
tem is,  however,  principally  affected  by  it,  and  it  is 
there  that  the  medico-legal  inquirer  must  search  for 
those  changes,  which  are  indicative  of  the  exercise  of  *  LA/"'' 
that  function.  -*  IK  *•">*  *V*^%i+A&£ 

In  examining  a  child  which  has  never  breathed,  its        W§ 
thorax  is  found  flattened,  or,  as  it  were,  compressed ; 
the  lungs  are  dense,  of  a  reddish-brown_coIour.  and  in 
a  collapsed    state;    they  are  comparatively  small  in 
size,  occupying  only  the  upper  part  of  the  chest,  and 
hence  they  leave  the  heart  and  pericardium  uncovered ; 
on  examining  the  pulmonary  vessels,  they  are  found  to     s*%/ 
contain  little  or  no  blood.     If  the  lungs  be  taken  out 
of  the  thorax  and  put  into  water,,  they  will  sink  to  the    y*****-4 
bottom,  and  if  their  weight  be  compared  with  the     fyffJ^M^ 
weight  of  the  whole  body  of  the  child,  they  will  be 
found  to  be  to  each  other  as  1  is  to  67  or  70.  j{f     a  j 

Tibfafffiiiromr  of  all  this  is  met  with  in  a  child  that  has  f\-  y^jj 
respired.  The  thorax  is  more  arched,  and  its  size  **  "tfj 
augmented  in  every '  respect ;  the  lungs  are  dilated  ;JH0§/t+s\* 
they  fill  up  the  cavity  of  the  thorax,  and  cover  the  lateral  ftfatdj/W*, 
parts  of  the  pericardium  ;  their  colour  is  less  deep,  and  JZtAiA^ 
the  pulmonary  vessels  are  moreover  distended  with  /^% 

blood.  Their  specific,  as  well  as  absolute  weight,  is  J"~ 
also  changed,  ana  accordingly,  when  put  into  water, "  WC**^ 
they  will  float  upop  its  surface,  and  when  compared 
with  the  whole  weight  of  the  body,  they  will  be  as  2 
is  to  67  or  70 ;  or  in  other  words,  the  absolute  weight 
of  the  lungs  in  a  child  which  has  breathed,  will  double 
that  of  the  foetus  previous  to  respiration.  In  addition 
to  this,  they  have  an  elastic  feeling,  and  on  cutting  into 
them,  there  is  a  crepitus  caused  by  the  extrication  of 
the  air  from  the  pulmonary  cells. 


^ 


es  the  effects  thus  produced  upon  the  lungs 
themselve^by  the  admission  of  air  into  them,  there 
are  other  change^effected  in  the  neighbouring  organs. 
The  shape  of  the  dt^pjiragm  is  altered  by  the  expan- 
sion of  the  lungs,  pressir^i^own  and  diminishing  its 
arch/  *And: from  the  same  causeT^he  situation  of  the 
liver  and  stomach  will  be  lower. 

Such,  in  general  terms,  are  the  changes  in  the  pul- 
monary system  caused  by  respiration,  and  where  they 
exist,  are  sufficiently  palpable  to  remove  every  doubt  as 
to  the  child  having  enjoyed  life.  Some  of  them,  how- 
ever, require  a  more  minute  examination. 
•»  f ,  Of  the  floating  of  the  lungs  in  water,  as  a  test  of  previous 

*     vitality. — It  is  to  Galen  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  first 
notice  of  this  test*.     After  his  time,  no  writer  appears 
even  to  have  mentioned  it,  until  about  the  period  in 
which  Morgagni  flourished"!".      Even  Zacchias,  who 
may  justly  be  styled  the  father  of  Forensic  Medicine, 
(  *   passes  it  over  in  silencej.     Haller  speaks •e£it^9Jtficu- 
i  *   larly,  and  notices  some  of  the  difficulties  attending  its 
V"*tf**  practical  application  :  "  Vixit  ctrte  puer,  cujus  pulmo 
•4  aquis  innatat,  neque  vitium  subrepere  potest,  nisi  vel 
*;  in    os  inflatus   ger  fuerit,    quocR  verum  respirationis 
ic  genus  est,  vel  putredo,  neque  eaWodica,  tantum  pro- 
^4«       i4  duxerit  seris,  ut  pondus  specificum  pulmonis,  aliunde 
"  equidem  sere  exigua  portione  majus,  aquas  pondere 
"  minus   factum   sit.      Id  modica  dutredo   non   efficit, 
44  major  prasstat.     Neque  tunc  error  in  medici  effato 
44  locum  habet,  si  levi  opera  voluerittexplorare,  num  et 


\ 


*  Opera  Galeni  de  usu  Part.  lib.  xv.  cap.  6.  p.  14^,  6.     Lugduni,  1643. 

t  MorgagnPs  Works,  vol.  i.Lett.  19,  p.  536. 

%  It  cannot  but  appear  singular,  that  Zacchias,  who  published  three  large 
folio  volumes  on  legal  medicine, -has  nothiag  professedly  on  the  subject  of  in- 
fanticide. 


51 

"  reliqua  viscera  natent.  Id  si  viderit,  non  os  in  pul- 
"  monem  per  respirationem  receptus  causa  erit  natandi, 
"  sed  aer  ex  humoribus  carnibusque  per  communem 
"  legem  putredinis  expeditus.*." 

In  times  still  more  modern,  this  subject  has  given  rise 
to  infinite  discussion ;  and  perhaps  there  is  none  in  the 
whole  range  of  medico-legal  investigations,  which  has 
occasioned  more  litigation  or  contradiction.  The  con- 
sequence has  been,  that/by  many  this  test  has  been  re- 
jected as  altogether  inconclusive.  Most  of  the  English 
writers  by  whom  it  has/been  incidentally!  touched  upon, 
are  opposed  to  it.  The  French  and  Germans  have  made 
it  the  subject  of  mone  profound  inquiry,  and  their  re- 
searches have  obviated  most  of  the  objections  that  can 
be  urged  against  it.  The  talents  of  Mahon,  Fodere, 
and  Marc,  have  in  particular  been  displayed  with 
singular  ability  and  success  in  its  defence. 

1  shall  first  state  the  test,  and  then  consider  the  ob- 
jections which  may  be  brought  against  it. 

It  is  observed,  that  upon  putting  into  water  the 
lungs  of  a  child  which  has  never  breathed,  they  will 
sink  to  the  bottom;  but  that  if  it  has  once  respired,  they 
will  float.  The  reason  of  this  is  so  obvious,  that  it 
needs  no  explanation.  Now  from  these  facts  the  ge- 
neral conclusion  necessarily  follows,  that  where  the 
lungs  of  a  child  float  in  water,  it  must  have  respired, 

*  Haller's  Elem.  Physiol,  torn.  iii.  p.  279,  80. 

f  I  say  incidentally,  because  I  know  of  no  English  writer  who  has  treated 
of  it  at  any  length.  This  will  not  appear  very  surprising  to  those  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  fact,  that  the  English  cannot  boast  of  more  than  three  or 
four  professed  authors  on  the  subject  of  legal  medicine,  and  these  are  nothing 
more  than  translators  or  compilers  from  the  Continental  writers.  Dr. 
Farr's  small  work,  which  is  by  far  the  most  celebrated  English  production, 
is  confessedly  only  a  compilation  from  the  Elementa  Medicinee  Forensis  of  J. 
F.  Faseliu=,  published  at  Geneva  in  1767;  and  the  late  Epitome  of  Medical 
Jurisprudence,  by  Dr.  Males,  is  chiefly  taken  from  Mahon  and  Fodere. 


52 

and  therefore  must  have  been  born  alive.  And  on 
the  other  hand,  when  they  are  found  to  sink,  it  is  an 
evidence  that  the  child  has  not  breathed,  and  therefore 
was  not  born  alive. 

Such  are  the  general  propositions.  Let  us  now  see 
if  it  is  safe  to  trust  to  them  in  all  cases,  by  considering 
the  different  objections  which  have  been  urged  against 
them. 

Objection  1.  Dr.  W.  Hunter  says,  that  "  a  child 
"  will  very  commonly  breathe  as  soon  as  its  mouth  is 
44  born,  or  protruded  from  its  mother ;  and  in  that  case, 
4i  may  lose  its  life  before  its  body  be  born,  especially 
**  when  there  happens  to  be  a  considerable  interval  of 
"  time  between  what  we  may  call  the  birth  of  the 
ct  child's  head,  and  the  protrusion  of  its  body*." 

Morgagni  and  Haller  appear  to  be  of  a  similar  opi- 
nion, and  Mahon  does  not  deny  its  possibility,  al- 
though he  considers  its  occurrence  as  not  verv 
probablef.  Hebenstreit,  on  the  contrary,  according  to 
Mahon,  boldly  denies  that  it  ever  can  take  place}.  Not- 
withstanding this  diversity  of  sentiment,  the  objection 
has  obtained  currency,  and  therefore,  deserves  to  be 
examined.  It  involves  two  cases:  1st,  The  mouth 
may  be  applied  to  the  os  externum,  and  respiration  be 
effected  without  the  delivery  of  any  part  of  the  body* 
2d,  The  head  may  protrude  while  the  rest  of  the  body 
is  detained,  and  in  this  position  air  may  be  inspired. 
In  both  these  cases,  the  objection  supposes  that  the 
shild  may  die  before  it  is  delivered;  and  therefore,  the 
evidence  afforded  by  the  floating  of  the  lungs  would 
be  fallacious. 


*  Medical  Observations  and  Inquiries,  vol.  vi.  p.  287, 
t  Med.  Leg.  torn.  ii.  p.  398. 
i  Ibid. 


53 

With  regard  to  the  first  of  these,  it  may  be  remark- 
ed, that  it  is  a  case  extremely  improbable.  The  mouth 
may  present  in  the  manner  just  stated,  but  any  efforts 
at  breathing,  so  prematurely  and  unnaturally,  must  ne- 
cessarily be  very  imperfect,  and  quite  insufficient  to  di- 
late the  lungs,  Besides,  if  the  child  dies  between  the 
time  of  the  presentation  of  the  mouth,  and  the  expulsion 
of  the  whole  body,  it  must  be  caused  by  natural  debility, 
or  some  accident  during  delivery,  the  most  common  of 
of  which  is  pressure  on  the  cord,  so  as  to  interrupt  the 
circulation.  That  the  former  cannot  occasion  it,  is 
proved  by  the  very  fact  of  respiration  having  taken 
place ;  for  the  exercise  of  that  function  so  prematurely? 
necessarily  implies  a  degree  of  vitality  and  vigour  in- 
consistent with  the  supposition  of  such  original  feeble- 
ness. Nor  can  pressure  on  the  cord  be  the  cause,  for  it 
is  wholly  immaterial  whether  the  circulation  in  it  be 
stopped  or  not  after  respiration  has  commenced,  as  the 
foetal  circulation  has  then  become  unnecessary. 

The  second  case  supposes  the  head  of  the  child  to 
be  protruded  while  the  body  is  detained,  and  in  this 
situation,  death  to  ensue  after  respiration  has  been  ef- 
fected. That  a  child  may  breathe  in  this  position 
is  granted ;  but  is  it  likely  that  it  will  die  under  these 
circumstances  ?  The  remarks  made  before  on  the 
child  dying  from  debility,  or  from  interrupted  circula- 
tion in  the  cord,  apply  with  equal,  if  not  greater  force 
in  the  present  instance,  and  they  prove  that  the  child 
cannot  suffer  from  either  of  those  causes.  Besides,  it 
is  wholly  incredible  that  the  body  should  not  shortly 
follow  the  protrusion  of  the  head ;  because  if  that,  be- 
ing the  largest  part  of  the  child,  had  once  passed,  the 
rest  would  present  no  obstacle  to  speedy  delivery.  But 
granting  for  a  moment,  that  after  the  protrusion  of  the 

H 


*x* 


54 

head,  the  body  is  retained  by  the  firm  contraction  of 
the  female  organs  around  it,  then  it  is  wholly  incon- 
ceivable how  respiration  should  ever  have  taken  place, 
for  this  very  contraction  would  prevent  that  dilitation  of 
the  thorax  which  is  necessary  for  the  performance  of 
that  function*. 

Practical  writers  remark,  that  there  is  no  danger  at- 
tending a  child  in  this  situation.  In  a  case  of  this  kind, 
Burns  directs,  that  we  should  "  attend  to  the  head, 
"  examining  that  the  membranes  do  not  cover  the 
"  mouth,  but  that  the  child  be  enabled  to  breathe, 
"  should  the  circulation  in  the  cord  be  obstructed. 
"  There  is  no  danger  in  delay,  and  rashly  pulling  away 
"  the  child  is  apt  to  produce  flooding  and  other  dan- 
64  gerous  accidentsf .  In  another  place,  he  says,  "  Some 
44  children  die,  owing  to  the  head  being  born  covered 
44  with  the  membranes,  some  time  before  the  body. 
"  This  is  the  consequence  of  inattention,  for  if  the 
"  membranes  be  removed  from  the  face  there  is  no  risk 
"  of  the  childX"  Denman  also  remarks,  that  "  it  was 
44  formerly  supposed  necessary  for  the  practitioner  to 
"  extract  the  body  of  the  child  immediately  after  the 
"  expulsion  of  the  head,  lest  it  should  be  destroyed  by 
44  confinement  in  this  untoward  position.  But  expe- 
44  rience  has  not  only  proved  that  the  child  is  not  on 
M  that  account  in  any  particular  danger,  but  that  it  is 
"  really  safer  and  better,  both  for  the  mother  and  child, 
i4  to  wait  for  the  return  of  the  pains,  by  which  it  will 
4i  soon  be  expelled§.'5 

Objection  II.  The  child  may  have  been  born  dead, 
and  yet  the  lungs  will  float  when  put  into  water,  either  from 
artificial  inflation  or  putrefaction. 

*  Manuel  D'Autopsie  Cadaverique  Med.  Leg.  par  C.C.HjJVIarc.  Paris,  1808, 
+  The  Principles  of  Mid.  by  J.  Burns,  Ed.  by  Dr.  Chapman,  1810,  p.  246. 
%  Ibid.  p.  376,  Introducti  on  to  the  Practice  of  Mid,  p.  177.  Am,  Ed. 


55 

The  facts  here  stated  are  true ;  but  unless  it  can  be 
proved,  that  there  are  no  means  of  discriminating  be-^^*^-"*^**- 
tween  the  floating  of  the  lungs  as  occasioned  by  these 
causes,  and  natural  respiration,  the  objection  cannot  be 
admitted  as  of  any  weight.  *■*&  ^5 

Let  us  examine  each  in  order :  <  V^k» 

Artificial  inflation  of  the  lungs, — It  has  been  doubted 
by  some,  whether  this  could  ever  be  effected.  Heister 
states,  that  he  proved,  by  actual  experiments,  that  air 
blown  into  the  lungs  cannot  dilate  them#.  Hebenstreit 
and  Roederer  maintain  the  saTfntrd'oc'toie^^  *  *J 

jority  of  writers,  however,  assent  to  its  possibility,  and 
admit  that  the  lungs  will  float  in  consequene  of  it;  at 
any  rate,  there  can  be  no  question,  but  that  a  part  of 
the  lungs,  at  least,  may  be  inflated  artificially.  And 
there  are  not  wanting  occasions  when  this  might  be  at- 
tempted. It  is  not  incredible  that  it  might  be  the  re-  *K*4)^  K* 
suit  of  malice  designed  to  injure  the  innocent  mother, 
or  of  maternal  tenderness  endeavouring  to  resuscitate 
a  lifeless  child.  It  becomes,  then,  a  question  of  great 
interest,  to  determine  whether  the  existence  of  air  in 
the  lungs  be  the  product  of  nature  or  of  art.  And  it 
is  fortunate  for  the  cause  of  justice,  as  well  as  humani-  *^L* 
ty,  that  this  can  be  done.  Buttner  appears  to  have  91 
been  the  first  J  who  proposed  a  test  for  this  purpose, 
both  certain  and  obvious,  founded  upon  the  difference 
between  the  foetal  and  adult  circulation.  In  the  for- 
mer, it  is  well  known,  the  blood  does  not  pass  through 
the  lungs,  whereas,  as  soon  as  respiration  commences, 
the  old  passages  are  closed,  and  the  whole  mass  is 
forced  through  those  organs.     If,   therefore,  a   child 

*  Morgagni's  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  536. 

t  M6d.  Leg.  De  P.  A.  O.  Mahon,  torn.  ii.  p.  439. 

$  Manuel  D'Autopsie  Cadaverique  Med.  Leg.  par  C.  C.  H.  Marc. 


# 


56 

has  been  born  dead,  the  arteries  and  veins  of  the  lungs 
xe  found  destitute  of  blood,  and  in  a  collapsed  state, 
notwithstanding  any  artificial  inflation  that  may  have 
been  practised  upon  them.  On  the  contrary,  the  vas- 
cular distention  of  the  pulmonary  organs,  proves  that 
the  child  has  breathed,  for  nothing  but  natural  respi- 
ration can  produce  this  effect. 

Another  method  of  determining  this  question,  is  by 
taking  the  absolute  weight  of  the  lungs,  according  to 
the  test  of  M.  Ploucqueu  which  shall  be  noticed  more 
particularly  hereafter. 

A\  A  third  test  for  this  purpose  has  been  suggested  by 

M.  Marc.     He  considers  that  art  can  never  completely 
mAj  inflate  the  lungs;  and  from  the  greater  difficulty  which 

attends  the  admission  of  air  into  the  left  lung,  he  is  in- 
*j*}  duced  to  believe,  that  the  inferior  extremity  of  that 
lung  will  remain  in  a  collapsed  state,  and  float  but  im- 
perfectly, or  not  at  all.  The  truth  of  this  position, 
though  extremely  probable,  does  not  appear  to  be  sup- 
ported by  a  sufficient  number  of  experiments  to  allow  its 
adoption  as  a  general  and  infallible  rule.  With  regard 
to  the  two  first,  they  are  founded  on  principles  so  just 

dflfl}  and  immutable,  and  their  practical  application  is  so 
certain,  that  they  appear  to  have  removed  all  the  doubt 
which  previously  existed*. 

The  putrefaction  of  the  lungs — It  has  been  a  question 
of  much  dispute,  what  the  effects  of  putrefaction  are 
upon  lungs  that  have  never  respired  ;  some  asserting 
that  it  renders  them  specifically  heavier  than  waterf, 

*  Manuel  D'Antopsie  Cadarerique,  Sic.  p.  138. 

t  Teichmeyer  asserts,  that  it  never  causes  the  lungs  to  float.  "  Putrefacti 
"  aqua,  aere,  defossi  terra  semper  subsiderunt.  Unde  putrefactio  et  omnis 
4£  hie  objecta  rarefactio  non  sufneit;  subsidunt  paulo  tardius,  sed  semper 
"  tandem,  quod  nunquam  sit,cum  pulmone,  qui  respiraverat'"  Praelectiones 
Academicae  J.  G.  Brendelii  in  H.  F.  Teichmeyeri  Instil.  Med„  Legal,  vel 
Foren.  p.  184. 


57 

and  consequently  that  they  will  sink  when  thrown  into 
that  fluid,  while  others,  of  equal  respectability,  main- 
tain a  contrary  opinion.  Both  parties  adduce  experi- 
ments in  proof  of  their  particular  doctrines.  The  only 
solution  that  can  be  given  to  these  contradictory  re- 
sults, is  by  admitting  that  all  the  experiments  have  not 
been  performed  with  sufficient  care,  so  as  to  lead  to 
conclusions  uniformly  just.  Every  thing  depends  upon 
the  manner  in  which  they  are  conducted.  The  most 
accurate  experiments,  I  believe,  were  those  performed 
by  Mayer,  as  related  by  Mahon*.  From  his  observa- 
tions it  appears,  that  in  the  incipient  stage  of  putrefac- 
tion, lungs  that  have  never  respired  will  float  in  water,  ~""4 
whereas  they  will  sink,  if  it  has  continued  long  enoughs  %^ 

to  completely  destroy  their  organization,  and  thus  ex-  ' 
tricate  all  the  air.     These  results  have  been  corrobo-   ' 
rated  by  the  observations  and  experiments  of  others,         t 
and  their  truth  cannot  be  doubted.     It  seems  singular 
indeed,  that  they  should  ever  have  been  questioned, 
when  a  case  perfectly  analogous  is  witnessed  in  every 
person  that  is  drowned.     The  body  at  first  sinks,  af- 
terwards rises  to  the  surface,  when  putrefaction  has 
generated  air  sufficient  to  render  it  specifically  lighter     ♦  • 
than  water,  and  finally  descends  again  upon  the  extri- 
cation of  that  air.  i 

Such  being  the  effect  of  putrefaction,  it  becomes  a 
question  of  consequence,  to  determine  in  what  way  we 
can  distinguish  between  the  floating  of  the  lungs  as  -^^ 
caused  by  natural  respiration,  and  that  which  is  the 
consequence  of  decomposition.  Haller  directs,  that  in 
a  doubtful  case  of  this  kind,  the  other  viscera  of  the 
body  should   be  put  into  water  as  well  as  the  lungs, 

*  Med.  Leg.  torn.  ii.  p.  443,  4. 


k 


58 

and  if  they  also  float,  it  is  a  proof  of  putrefaction.  "  Id 
"  si  viderit,  non  aer  in  pulmonem  per  respirationem 
6i  receptus  causa  erit  natandi,  sed  aer  ex  humoribus 
"  carnibusque  per  communem  legem  putredinis  expe- 
«  ditus*." 

This  rule  is  not  strictly  correct,  for  it  is  found  that 
the  lungs,  from  the  peculiarity  of  their  constitution,  re- 
sist putrefaction  much  longer  than  other  parts  of  the 
body.  Faissole  and  Champeau,  in  experiments  which 
they  made  on  drowned  persons,  observed  that  the  lungs 
remained  sound  after  the  whole  body  had  become  pu- 
trified.  And  Mahon  noticed  the  same  fact  in  his  dis- 
A  ■     sectioQs_of  dead  bodies^* 

x  Dr.  William  Hunter  lays  down  the  following  rule, 

|^AH^fi|/Cwhich  appears  to  be  founded  in  truth,  and  accordingly 

-v^p^*   it  has  been  adopted  by  Fodere,  MarO,  and  other  wri- 

^/l  %  ters.     "  If  the  air  which  is  in  the  Jungs  be  that  of  respi- 

~.  i;  ration,  the  air  bubbles  will  hardly  be  visible  to  the 

"  naked  eye ;  but  if  the  air  bubbles  be  large,  or  if  they 

"  run  in  lines  along  the  fissures,  between  the  compo- 

4i  nent  lobuli  of  the  lungs,  the  air  is  certainly  emphy- 

"  sematous,  and  not  air  which  had  been  taken  in  by 

.      "  breathing]:.". 

Two  facts,  then,  appear  to  be  evident,  viz.  that  the 
lungs  are  less  in  danger  of  putrefaction  than  any  other 
organ  in  the  human  system,  except  the  bones,  and 
therefore,  that  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  make  experiments 
upon  them,  even  after  decomposition  has  commenced 
in  other  parts  of  the  body ;  and  that  when  putrefac- 
tion has  attacked  them,  it  is  possible  to  distinguish  its 
effects  from  those  of  respiration. 

*  Haller's  Elem.  Phjs.  torn.  p.  iii.  280. 
t  Med.  Leg.  &c.  de  P.  A   O.  Mahon,  torn.  ii.  p.  400. 

\  Observations  on  the  Uncertainty  of  the  signs  of  Murder  in  the  case  of 
bastard  children.     See  aho  Parr's  London  Med.  Diet.  vol.  ii« 


59 

But  suppose  the  lungs  are  found  to  be  actually  in  a 
state  of  putrefaction,  is  the  Physician  then  justified  in 
drawing  any  conclusions,  or  in  giving  any  opinion  ? 
Mahon  directs  in  such  a  case,  that  it  is  better  for  the 
Medical  witness  to  be  silent,  and  to  leave  to  the  magis- 
trates the  task  of  finding  out  other  grounds  of  accusa- 
tion*. Marc,  however,  a  writer  who  throws  light  upon 
every  subject  that  he  touches,  answers  this  question  in 
the  affirmative,  and  proposes  two  characteristics  to 
enable  him  to  make  a  positive  decision.  The  first  is, 
that  lungs  which  have  respired,  notwithstanding  they 
have  been  attacked   by  putrefaction,  always  have  a    (fy^y 


crepitus  when  cut  into  ;  whereas  those  which  have  ne- 
ver respired,  although  they  float  in  water,  are  destitute 
of  this  peculiarity.     The  second,  and  which  he  consi- 


ders the  most  decisive  and  certain,  is  this ;  that  upon &*f  ***  i 
squeezing  out  from  jgf  sectionjof  the  lungs  the  matter  jfg^Mj  +> 
developed  by  putrefaction,  they  will  sink  if  they  are  1 
from  a  child  born  dead  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  if  theyv 
are  the  lungs  of  a  child  born  alive,  they  will,  notwith- 
standing, continue  to  floatf . 

Objection  III.  The  child  may  have  breathed,  and 
yet  the  lungs  in  some  cases  sink,  as  when  affected  by  cer- 
tain diseases  which  shall  increase  their  specific  gravity,  or 
ivhen  the  respiration  has  been  so  imperfect,  as  not  to  dilate 
them  sufficiently  to  cause  them  to  float  in  water. 

The  first  part  of  this  objection  has  been  deduced 
principally  from  analogy,  It  has  been  observed,  that 
various  morbid  affections  of  the  pulmonary  organs  of 
adults,  as  calculi,  schirri,  peripneumony,  hydrothorax, 
ulcers,  &c.  will  cause  their  subsidence  in  water ;  and 

*  Med.  Leg.  torn.  ii.  p.  400. 

t  Manuel  P'Autopsie  Cadayerique  Merh'co-Legnle,  par  C.  C.  H.  Marc 


60 

hence  it  has  been  inferred,  that  the  same  might  take 
place  in  the  foetus.  It  cannot  be  admitted,  however, 
that  these  morbid  conditions  will  frequently  occur  in 
the  foetus,  for  it  is  not  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the 
K{  causes  which  usually  produce  them.  Haller,  notwith- 
standing his  great  experience  and  extensive  learning, 
relates  no  instance  of  it,  and  expressly  asserts,  that 
they  are  very  rarely  found  in  the  foetal  state.  "  In 
"  adulto  homine  aliquando,  in  fcetu  rarissime,  ut  pulmo 
"  caiculis,  schirris,  aliave  materie  morbose  gravis  in 
"  aqua  subsideat,  etsi  quam  respiraverit#."  Brendelius, 
in  speaking  on  this  subject,  relates  only  a  single  case 

W  of  an  abortive  foetus  which  had  schirrous  lungs,  and  con- 

^  siders  it  a  singular  occurrence^     It  appears  then,  as 

well  from  reason  as  from  facts,  that  the   objection  is 

«3*  **„*  founded  upon  the  existence  of  circumstances  barely  pos~ 
*imJk\*  sible,  and  by  no  means  probable.     As  such,  however, 
r    it  demands  consideration  ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  sug- 
,#gest  the  means  by  which  a  false  judgment  may  be  pre- 
vented. 

To  any  one  who  has  been  accustomed  to  the  exami- 
nation of  the  human  body  in  its  different  states  of  health 
and  disease,  it  cannot  be  very  difficult  to  decide  whe- 
ther the  lungs  are  in  a  sound  or  morbid  condition.  It 
would  appear,  therefore,  at  first  view,  that  in  such 
cases  no  difficulties  could  occur,  which  a  sound  judg- 
ment, aided  by  anatomical  knowledge,  could  not  re- 
move. But  admitting  that  these  are  not  always  suffi- 
cient, there  is  still  a  resort  left  in  the  very  test  against 
which  this  objection  is  adduced.  The  objection  takes  it 
for  granted  that  the  child  has  breathed ;  whether  feebly 
or  vigorously  is   a  matter  of  no   consequence.     Some 

*  Elem.  Phys.  torn.  iii.  p.  281. 

t  J.  G.  Brendelii,  &c.  Medicina  Legalis  sive  Forensis,  p.  10, 


61 

hart,  therefore,  of  the  lungs  must  contain  air,  and  al- 
though the  quantity  of  it  may  be  too  small  to  cause  the 
whole  organ  to  float,  yet  if  it  be  'divided  into  a  number 
of  pieces,  and  any  one  of  them  remain  on  the  surface, 
there  cannot  be  a  moment's  hesitation  about  the  con- 
clusion to  be  drawn.  Fodere  states,  that  he  frequent- 
ly made  experiments  upon  lungs  that  were  schirrous, 
or  had  congestions  of  blood,  and  he  uniformly  found, 
that  although  they  sunk  when  puf  into  water  entire, 
yet  when  cut  into  pieces,  some  of  them  always  floated*. 

With  regard  to  the  second  part  of  the  objection,  it<  -Af 
is  admitted,  that  the  child  when  born  may  be  so  feeble, 
as  only  to  be  able  to  inhale  a  small  quantity  of  air,  and 
therefore  that  the  whole  lung  will  not  float  in  water. 
Heister,  indeed*  relates  the  case  of  a  very  feeble  in- 
fant whose  lungs  sunk  in  water,  though  it  lived  nine 
hours  after  birthf . 

The  same  method  must  here  be  adopted,  as  in  cases 
where  the  lungs  are  diseased ;  they  must  be  cut  into  seve- 
ral parts,  and  experiments  must  be  instituted  upon  each. 
However  imperfect  the  inspiration  has  been,  some 
portion  must  be  inflated,  and  therefore  will  float. 

Objection  IV.  Granting  that  the. floating  of  the 
lungs  is  an  evidence  that  the  child  has  respired,  their  sink- 
ing  by  no  means  proves  that  it  was  horn  dead. 

This  proposition  is  undoubtedly  true.  But  does  it 
constitute  a  solid  objection?  It  is  well  known  that 
children  may  be  born  alive  without  breathing.  The 
causes  which  occasion  this  may  be  divided  into  three 
classes :  1  st,  Those  which  depend  upon  some  malforma- 
tion of  the  thorax  or  abdomen,  which  prevents  respiration, 
2d,  Mechanical  obstructions,  as  mucus  in  the  trachea, 

*  Med.  L6g.  torn.  iv.  p.  487. 

t  Morgagni's  Works,  vol.  i.  Lett:  xix.  p.  536. 

T 


62 

doubling  back  of  the  tongue,  &c.  3d,  Causes  connect- 
ed with  delivery,  as  long  detention  in  the  pelvis,  com- 
pression of  the  cord,  or  the  head  of  the  child  being 
covered  with  the  membranes.  Now,  in  most  of  these 
cases  it  is  obvious,  that  the  cause  of  death  may  be  de- 
tected by  a  careful  examination  of  the  body.  But  even 
where  this  cannot  be  done,  are  we  not  justifiable  in 
considering  as  dead,  every  child  that  has  not  breathed  ? 
Governed  by  such  a  rule,  any  error  that  might  be  co'm- 
mitted  would  always  be  on  the  side  of  mercy.  It  is 
true,  that  certainty  is  as  desirable  here,  as  in  any  other 
case;  for  the  destruction  of  a  feeble  child  is  a  crime  as 
enormous  as  that  of  a  vigorous  and  healthy  one,  and 
the  punishment  of  the  murderer  of  the  one,  is  equally  an 
object  of  public  concern,  with  that  of  the  other.  But  in 
the  language  of  a  distinguished  writer  on  this  subject, 
"  pour  le  punir,  it  faut  le  constater:  et  lorsque  les  li- 
i;  mites  de  Part  nous  refusent  le  degre  de  certitude  que 
"  nous  ambitionnons,  la  clemence,  que  dis-je,  la  crainte 
"  d'immoler  Pinnocence  devra  Pemporter  sur  toute 
"  autre  consideration*." 

This  objection,  so  far  from  showing  the  incon- 
clusiveness  of  this  test,  serves  only  to  establish  more 
clearly  its  absolute  necessity.  It  is  by  resorting  to 
it  alone,  that  the  sacrifice  of  innocence  can  be  pre- 
vented; for  who  would  assume  the  responsibility  of  de- 
ciding that  a  child  had  been  born  alive,  when  this  evi- 
dence of  vitality  was  absent  ? 

If  the  writer  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  obviate 
the  difficulties  which  have  been  raised  against  the 
test,  which  has  just  been  considered,  then  it  may 
be    esteemed  as  settled,    that   this    method  of  judg- 

*  Manuel  D'Autopsie  Cadaverique  Med.  Leg.  &c,  par  C.  C.  H,  Marc 


63 

mg  whether  a  child  has  been  born  alive  or  not, 
is  not  merely  unattended  with  danger,  but  is  found- 
ed on  principles  as  favourable  to  humanity,  as  they 
are  to  rigid  justice.  It  cannot,  however,  be  other- 
wise than  plain,  that  a  conclusion  ought  never  to  be 
drawn  from  a  superficial  inspection  of  the  lungs.  The 
reputation  of  the  professional  witness,  as  well  as  the 
fate  of  the  accused,  are  too  deeply  interested  to  admit 
of  this.  It  may,  therefore,  be  proper  to  present  a  sum- 
mary of  practical  rules,  for  the  guidance  of  the  Physi- 
cian when  called  to  the  examination  of  a  case,  which, 
of  all  others,  demands  a  combination  of  the  exercise  of 
the  soundest  judgment,  and  the  most  profound  know- 
ledge. 

1 .  After  having  examined  the  general  shape  of  the 
thorax,  and  noticed  the  position  and  colour  of  the  lungs 
in  its  cavity,  they  should  be  taken  out,  together  with 
the  heart.  They  should  then  be  subjected  to  a  care* 
ful  inspection,  to  determine  if  they  are  sound  or  diseased, 
and  if  they  are  at  all  affected  by  putrefaction. 

2.  Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  tempe- 
rature of  the  water,  in  which  the  lungs  are  to  be  im- 
mersed. The  reason  of  this  is  obvious,  when  it  is  re- 
collected, that  the  specific  gravity  of  water  varies  with 
its  temperature;  thus,  for  instance,  water  at  100°,  is 
lighter  than  water  at  60°,  and  still  lighter  than  at  400#. 
Besides,  if  the  water  be  too  hot,  it  will  have  the  effect  of 
expanding  the  lungs,  and  thus  favour  their  floating,  espe- 
cially when  there  already  exists  a  slight  tendency  to 
putrefaction.  If,  on  the  contrary,  its  temperature  be 
too  low,  the  air  cells  will  be  contracted,  and  much  of 
the  air  will  thus  be  expelled.     The  temperature  of  the 

*  Elements  of  Natural  and  Experimental  Philosophy,  by  Tiberius  €avallo; 
F.  R.  S.  vol.  ii.  p.  470. 


■Vf- 


b4 

water  should,  therefore,  be  regulated  by  that  of  the 
surrounding  air.  Another  precaution  relative  to  the 
water  is,  that  it  should  not  be  impregnated  with  salt*  ; 
for  in  consequence  of  the  greater  specific  gravity  of 
saline  water,  a  body  might  float  in  it  which  would  sink 
in  fresh  water. 

3.  The  lungs,  together  with  the  heart,  should  then 
..  be  placed  in  the  water,  and  if  they  both  float,  it  is  a 
Jj       proof  of  complete  and  effectual  respiration. 

4.  If  the  lungs  sink  with  the  heart,  or  if  the  floating  is 
only  partial,  it  is  then  proper  to  separate  them,  and  re- 
peat the  experiment  upon  the  lungs  alone;  observing 

"*  f      whether  the  whole  float,  or  if  they  sink,  whether  any 
part  shows  a  tendency  to  float;  if  so, 

5.  The  two  lobes  should  then  be  separated,  and  the 
experiment  repeated  upon  each,  noticing  the  difference, 
if  any,  between  them.  If  only  one  floats,  see  if  it  is 
the  right  onef. 

6.  If  both  lobes  sink,  or  float  but  imperfectly,  they 
should  be  cut  into  a  number  of  pieces,  taking  care  not 
to  confound  the  fragments  of  one  lobe  with  those  of 
the  other;  and  upon  each  of  these  the  same  experiment 
should  be  instituted. 

*  Fodere's  Med.  Leg.  torn.  iv.  p.  470. 

t  It  is  a  curious  fact  connected  with  the  history  of  incipient  respiration, 
that  the  right  lung  receives  air  much  sooner  than  the  left.  M.  Portal  made 
several  experiments  to  prove  this.  In  a  kitten,  which  he  killed  a  few  minutes 
after  it  was  born,  the  right  lung  was  of  a  whitish  colour,  filled  the  whole  cavi- 
JL^  ty  of  the  chest,  and  swam  in  water.  The  left  was  of  a  dark-red  colour,  in  a 
collapsed  state,  and  sunk  in  water.  He  accounts  for  this  interesting  phenome- 
non, by  showing  that  there  is  a  difference  in  the  size  and  direction  of  the  bronchi 
leading  to  the  two  lobes.  Upon  examination,  he  found  the  right  one  about 
one-fourth  part  thicker,  and  One-fifth  shorter  than  the  left ;  besides,  he  found 
the  passage  to  the  right  to  be  more  direct,  than  that  to  the  left*.  Whatever  may 
be  the  method  of  explaining  this  peculiarity,  it  teaches  us  a  practical  lesson 
of  the  greatest  value,  which  is,  not  to  remain  satisfied  with  an  experiment 
upon  one  lung  only ;  both  should  be  examined  with  equal  care. 
*  Medical  Commentaries,  vol.  i.  p.  409, 


65 


7.  While  cutting  the  lungs,  it  should  be  marked  if 
there  be  any  crepitation ;  if  the  vessels  are  charged 
with  blood  ;  and  if  there  be  any  traces  of  disease. 

After  having  performed  these  different  processes, 
the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  them  are  evident.  If 
the  entire  lungs,  as  well  as  all  the  divisions,  remain  on 
the  surface  of  the  fluid,  it  is  a  proof  that  the  infant  en- 
joyed perfect  respiration ;  if  only  the  right  lung  or  its 
pieces  float,  the  respiration  must  have  been  less 
perfect ;  if  some  pieces  only  float,  whilst  the  greater 
number  sink,  it  proves  that  the  child  lived  with  pain, 
or  that  its  lungs  were  diseased,  or  that  the  partial  float- 
ing was  owing  to  artificial  inflation ;  if  all  the  pieces 
sink,  the  inference  is  decisive,  that  the  child  never  re- 
spired*. 

Having  thus  noticjed,  at  sufficient  length,  the  various 
circumstances  relating  to  the  floating  of  the  lungs,  I 
shall  next  consider,,  i 

The  test  of  M.l  Floucquet,  founded  on  the  absolute 
weight  of  the  lungs.V— From  the  peculiarity  of  the  vas- 
cular system  in  the  Foetus,  only  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  blood  goes  the  rsuiid  of  the  pulmonary  circulation. 


As  soon  as  respiration 
and  the  whole  mass  o 
lungs,  in  order  to  unc 
oxygenation.      From 


commences,  a  change  is  effected, 
7  the  blood  passes  through  the 
ergo  the  necessary  process  of 
;his,  it  appears  that   the  foetal 


lungs  must  be  considerably  inferior  in  weight,  to  the 
same  organs  after  resp  ration  has  been  established.  It 
is  upon  this  fact  that  M.  Ploucquet  founded  his  cele- 
brated test  for  determining  whether  a  child  had  been 
born  dead  or  alive,  by  comparing  the  weight  of  the 

of  the  whole  body      From  the 


lungs  with  the  weight 
experiments  which  he 


ad' 


to  ascertain  their  propor- 


*  Fodere's  Med.  Leg.  torn.  iv.  p.  472. 


66 


tional  gravity,  he  drew  th<  general  conclusion,  that  the 
weight  of  the  lungs  pre>  iouslj  to  respiration,  is  one 
seventieth  of  the  weight  <  >f  the  whole  body,  whilst  af- 
ter that  process,  it  amouits  to  one  thirty-fifth;  or  in 
other  words,  that  the  bio  3d  introduced  into  the  lungs 
in  consequence  of  respiration,  doubles  their  absolute 
weight. 

Beautiful  and  decisive  as  this  test  appears  to  be,  it 
has  met  with  objections.  Dr=  Males  asserts,  "  that  it 
"  must  be  very  fallacious  as  the  capacity  of  the  tho- 
k<  rax,  and  its  proportion  to  other  parts  of  the  body, 
<;  vary  greatly #." 

The  premises  here,  as  well  as  the  conclusion,  are  in- 
correct. It  can  never  bf  admitted,  as  a  general  fact, 
that  there  is  no  fixed  proportion  between  the  lungs  and 
other  parts  of  the  body.  J  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  nature 

her  operations,  for  we  know 
body  are  occasionally  preter- 
iminished,  while  others  are 
ether;  but  to  deny  that  she  is 
ur  assent  to  the  existence  of 
The  growth  of  the  human 
body  is  as  much  subjecjf  to  general  laws,  as  any  other 
part  of  the  created  universe.  Philosophy  will  never 
justify  the  subversion  of  any  general  principle,  because 
exceptions  may  be  urged  against  it.  Besides,  any  ex- 
ceptions to  the  above  test,  drawn  from  this  source,  can- 
not be  considered  of  much  force,  for  no  deviations  from 
the  usual  structure  av  size  of  any  part  of  the  body,  will 
double  its  weight,  ivhich  it  must  do  to  render  the  ob- 
jection valid.  In  cases  of  real  monsters,  this  may  take 
place,  but  then  me  cause  will  be  so  palpable,  that  no 
mistake  can  possiblv  arise. 


is  not  always  uniform  in 
that  some  organs  in  the 
naturally  enlarged    or 
sometimes  wanting  altos 
so  generally,  is  to  refuse 
all  general  laws  whatev 


Medical  Jurisprudence,  p.  107. 


67 


A  second  objectiomto  this  test  is,  that  an  excessive 
congestion  of  blood  might  occur  in  the  lungs  of  a 
foetus  that  had  never  respired,  which  should  render 
them  equal  in  weight  to  the  lungs  of  a  fcetus  which  had 
respired*. 

To  this,  M.  Ploucquel  himself  replies,  that  it  is  not 
possible  for  such  a  congestion  to  take  place  in  lungs 
that  have  never  respired, las  shall  render  their  weight 
equal  to  that  consequent  upon  respiration;  because 
the  foramen  ovale,  and  tlie  canaiis  arteriosus,  offer  so 
easy  a  passage  to  the  current  of  blood,  even  when 
flowing  with  the  greatestlrapidity,  that  no  determina- 
tion of  consequence  can  etaist  towards  the  pulmonary 
vesselsf.  \ 

A  third  objection  has  beVn  drawn  from  the  altera- 
tion produced  by  putrefactiop,  in  the  relative  weight  of 
the  lungs  and  body.  On  tlnte,  Mahon  remarks,  "  that 
44  this  may  be  the  case  if  the  Putrefaction  be  very  great, 
44  but  then  the  foetus  cannot  be  subjected  to  any  exami- 
44  nation,  upon  which  a  medico-legal  decision  can  be 
44  founded.  But,  if  the  putrefaction  has  not  advanced 
44  far,  as  the  lungs  resist  its  effects  longer  than  any 
w  other  part,  we  may  try  the  lapplication  of  the  pro- 
44  posed  test,  to  corroborate  the  results  afforded  by  the 
w  hydrostatic  trialsj." 

Upon  the  whole,  Ploucquet'sl  test  appears  to  be  one 
of  more  general  and  easy  application,  than  any  other 
which  has  yet  been  discovered.  \  It  is  not  at  all  embar- 
rassed by  those  circumstances,  \wiich  frequently  throw 
an  appearance  of  uncertainty  oven  the  test  of  the  floating 
of  the  lungs.     In  one  case  particularly,  it  may  be  used 


*  Mahon's  M6d.  Leg.  torn.  ii.  p.  454. 

t  Ibid. 

t  Medecine  Legale,  &c.  torn.  Jr.  p.  460.. 


63 


with  signal  advantage,  viz.  where  air  is  found  in  the 
lungs,  but  a  doubt  exists  wh  >ther  it  is  the  consequence 
of  natural  respiration  or  of  a 


tificial  inflation. 

I  shall  notice  a  third  test,!  drawn  from  the  lungs  by 
M.  Daniel,  the  principle  of  wpich  is  very  similar  to  that 
of  Ploucquet.  He  judges  of  trie  reality  of  respiration  hav- 
ing taken  place  from  the  increase  of  weight  which  a  giv- 
en quantity  of  water  gains  upon  squeezing  out  the  lungs 
into  it.  He  thinks  it  may  be  fcnown  also  from  measur- 
ing the  periphery  of  the  thorax  and  lungs,  and  com  par- 
ins:  their  dimensions  with  thoi  e  of  an  infant  which  has 
not  respired*.  With  rega  d  to  these,  it  must  be 
granted,  that  the  first  is  inferi  )r  in  precision  and  facili- 
ty to  that  of  Ploucquet ;  whils  in  the  second,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  the  observations  an  1  measurements  should 
be  so  exact,  that  many  errors  might  and  would  un- 
doubtedly occur. 

IV.  Was  the  child  capable  of  living  after  birth? — ■ 
Much  need  not  be  said  on  this  point.  Every  child  that 
is  born  alive,  ought  to  be  considered  capable  of  sup- 
porting life  afterwards,  unless  the  existence  of  some 
cause  to  the  contrary  can  be  proved,  such  as  its  being 
born  previous  to  the  expiration  of  the  full  timef ;  some 


*  Manuel  D'Autopsie  Cadav.  &x.  par  M.  Marc,  p.  147. 

f  The  following  remarks  on  the  size  of  the  child  at  the  full* 
time,  are  made  by  Mr,  Burns*  :  "  In  the  eighth  month,  it  mea- 
"  sures  about  15  inches,  and  weighs  4,  or  sometimes  5  pounds, 
"  whilst  the  involucra  weigh  scarcely  one.  These  calculations 
"  vary  according  to  the  sex  of  the  child,  and  also  the  conformation 
"  of  the  parents.  Male  children  generally  weigh  more  than  fe- 
"  males.  Dr.  Roederer  concludes,  from  his  examinations,  that  the 
"  average  length  of  a  male,  at  the  full  time,  is  2(X|  inches,  whilst 
"  that  of  a  female  is  19}|  inches.     Dr.  Joseph  Clarke  has  given  a 


•  Principles  of  Midwifery,  p.  \U:  5.    3d  Ed.  Lord. 


69 

accident  during  labour,  by  which  it  was  materially  in- 
jured ;  incomplete  developement  of  the  different  parts 
of  the  body ;  malformation  of  some  of  its  organs,  by 
which  the  exercise  of  important  functions  were  sus- 
pended. Under  the  influence  of  any  of  these  causes,  the 
comparatively  feeble  powers  of  the  new-born  infant 
may  be  prostrated,  and  the  vitaF^principle  extinguished. 
They  may  all,  however,  be  easily  detected  upon  ex- 
amination, and  therefore  no  difficulty  can  arise. 

V.   The  various  means  by  which  a  child's  death  may  be  jj£ 
caused,  come  lastly  to  be  considered.     These  are  clas-  Cb*** 
sifted  by  systematic  writers,  as  those  of  Omission,  and   *jfa4Al£*0~i 
those  of  Commission.     The  former  includes  all  those    *          Q  h, 
which  prove  fatal  by  the  neglect  of  those  precautions,        *         j 
which  are  necessary  to  be  attended  to  immediately  af-   rW-J 
ter  the  birth  of  a  child;  the  latter  embraces  all  direct    /u^a  $&f 
acts  of  violence,  designed  to  take  away  life.     The  di- 
vision is  certainly  a  happy  one,  as  it  leads  to  adistinc-      yjSt"' 
tionofsome  consequence  in  practice*  *" It  keeps  con-         »^ 
! "*  t/C 

*<  table  of  the  comparative  weight  of  male  and  female  children  at 
"  the  full  time,  from  which  it  appears,  that  although  the  greatest 
"  proportion  of  both  sexes  weigh  seven  pounds,  yet  there  are  more 
"  females  than  males  found  below,  and  more  males  than  females  *^^^^ 
"  above  that  standard.  Thus,  whilst  out  of  sixty  males,  and  sixty 
"  females,  thirty-two  of  the  former,  and  twenty-five  of  the  latter, 
"  weighed  seven  pounds,  there  were  fourteen  females,  but  only  six 
"  males,  who  weighed  six  pounds;  on  the  other  hand,  there  were 
"  sixteen  males,  but  only  eight  females,  who  weighed  eight  pounds. 
"  Taking  the  average  weight  of  both  sexes,  it  will  be  found  that 
"  twelve  males  are  as  heavy  as  thirteen  females.  The  placenta  of 
"  a  male  weighs,  at  an  average,  one  pound  two  ounces  and  a  half, 
iC  whilst  that  of  a  female  weighs  half  an  ounce  less.  Female  chil- 
•'  dren  who,  at  the  full  time,  weigh  under  five  pounds,  rarely  live  ; 
;'  and  few  males,  who  even  weigh  five  pounds  thrive.  They  are 
"  generally  feeble  in  their  actions,  and  die  in  a  short  time." 

K 


70 

stantly  in  the  view  of  the  physician  and  the  jury,  the 
important  truth,  that  most  of  those  belonging  to  the 
one,  may  be  palliated  or  explained  on  the  grounds  of 
ignorance,  or  want  of  presence  of  mind  ;  whilst  the 
other  are  more  generally  the  products  of  premeditat- 
ed malice,  and  therefore  cannot  lay  claim  to  the  same 
sources  of  justification.!* 


INFANTICIDE    BY    OMISSION. 

1.  The  death  of  a  child  newly  born,  may  be  caused 
*^  £\*>^*A  by  omitting  to  remove  it  from  that  state  of  supination*, 
in  which  it  sometimes  comes  into  the  world.  In  this 
way,  respiration  may  be  effectually  prevented,  by  the 
mouth  of  the  child  being  closely  applied  to  the  bed 
clothes,  or  other  substances  in  its  way.  Dr.  W.  Hun- 
ter relates  an  instance  of  a  childf  dying,  from  its  face 
lying  in  a  pool  nrnde  by  the  uterine  discharges,  -where 
not  the  feast  suspicion  of  any  evil  design  appears  to 
have  been  attached  to  the  mother.  In  all  cases,  there- 
fore, in  which  death  arises  from  this  source,  the  cir- 
£::■  'antiai  evidence  must  decide  their  criminality. 
mm*"*  2e  Omitting  to  preserve  the  necessary  warmth  of 
the  childf.  It  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  necessity 
of  those  precautions  which  are  generally  resorted  to, 
after  the  birth  of  a  child,  in  order  to  preserve  a  pro- 
per degree  of  temperature.  They  are  founded  equally 
upon  experience  and  good  sense.  If,  therefore,  they 
hav<  ejected  in  any  case,  it  is  just  to  attribute 


6g.toin.iv-  p.  504. 
le  Uncertainty  of  the  Signs  of  Murder  in  the  case  of 

E 
%  Foder^s  Med.  Leg.  torn.  iv.  p.  504. 


71 

it  to  design,  unless  the  circumstances  of  the  delivery 
render  it  probable,  that  it  proceeded  from  ignorance,  or 
want  of  the  proper  means.  In  either  case,  however, 
the  physician  may  be  called  upon  to  decide,  whether 
the  death  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  action  of  the  cold, 
or  to  some  other  cause.  The  remarks  of  Fodere  on 
this  point  are  so  very  just,  that  I  cannot  do  better  than 
quote  him:  "  If  the  body  of  an  infant  is  found  stiff,  dis- 
u  coloured,  shrivelled,  and  naked,  or  with  only  a  slight 
"  covering  on  it  in  a  cold  place,  buried  under  stones, 
"  or  under  the  earth,  and  from  trials  upon  the  lungs,  it 
"  is  evident  that  it  has  respired ;  and  if  the  great  in- 
"  ternal  vessels  are  found  gorged  with  blood,  accom- 
"  panied  with  an  effusion  of  blood  into  the  cavities^ 
"  whilst  the  cutaneous  vessels  are  contracted  and  al- 
"  most  empty,  and  when  no  other  cawse  of  death  can 
"  be  detected,  one  cannot  do  less  than  attribute  it  to 
"  the  cold,  and  consider  this  abandonment  and  neg- 
"  lect  of  care,  the  necessity  of  which  are  obvious  to 
"  the  dullest  comprehension,  as  a  manifest  intention  to 
"  make  away  with  the  child*" 

3.  Omitting  to  administer  proper  nourishment,  may 
occasion  deathf  It  is  not  easy  to  say  how  long  a  new- 
born child  may  sustain  life  without  food.  It  is  evident, 
however,  that  it  ought  not  to  be  delaved  for  any  length 
of  time.  Fodere  says  the  neglect  of  it  for  twenty-four 
hours,  is  not  unattended  with  danger.  Wheirdeath^s 
occasioned  by  this  circumstance,  it  may  be  known  by 
the  general  emaciation  of  the  body; — by  the  fetid  and 
pungent  odour  which  exhales  from  it,  although  the 
death  be  very  recent ; — by  the  eyes  being  open,  and 
of  a  red  colour. — On  dissection,  the  intestines  are  foundy 

*  Fodere's  Med.  Lts.  torn,  iv.  p,  595.  t  Ibid.  torn.  iv.  n/i06, 


^iJ^t~*  U~3*?"< 


72 

completely  empty; — the  gall  bladder  enlarged; — bile 
is  effused  into  the  stomach  and  intestines ;  the  lungs 
appear  withered,  although  without  any  lesion ;  and 
otherwise,  all  the  viscera  are  in  a  sound  condition*. 

4*  Omitting  to  tie  the  umbilical  cord.  The  ma- 
jority of  medical  practitioners,  from  the  time  of  Hip- 
pocrates down  to  the  present  day,  concur  in  the  neces- 
sity of  tying  the  cord,  to  obviate  fatal  hemorrhage 
which  might  ensue  from  the  omission  of  it.  Such  was 
the  unanimity  of  opinion  on  this  subject,  that  previous 
to  the  17th  century,  a  doubt  was  not  entertained  with 
regard  to  it.  According  to  Fodere,  J.  Fanlonu  Pro- 
fessor of  Anatomy  at  Turin,  was  the  first  who  suggest- 
ed that  this  precaution  was  useless,  and  that  the  neg- 
lect of  it  was  unattended  with  any  danger  to  the  life  of 
the  child.  After**iis  time,  the  same  opinion  was  adopted 
and  defended  by  Michael  Albert^  in  1731,  and  J.  H. 
&chultzius%,  in  1733,  both  Professors  in  the  University 
of  Halle.  In  1751,  Kaltsmidt  maintained  the  same 
doctrine  at  Jena§.  The  arguments  offered  by  them  in 
defence  of  their  opinion  are  the  following:  1st,  They 
maintain  that  the  umbilical  vessels,  whether  cut  or 
torn,  have  a  sufficient  contractile  power  to  prevent  any 
great  loss  of  blood.  2d,  That,  because  in  other  ani- 
mals it  is  not  necessary  to  tie  the  cord,  therefore  it  is 
equally  useless  in  the  human  species.  3d,  Kaltsmidt 
adduces  an  argument  from  the  analogy  of  arteries  con- 
tracting spontaneously  in  some  surgical  operations,  and 
he  thence  infers,  that  a  similar  contraction  would  take 
place  in  the  vessels  of  the  cord||. 

*  Foder6's  Med    Le:.  torn,  iii   p.  238. 

t  Traits  de  M6decme  Legale,  &c.  par  F.  E.  Fodere,  torn.  iv.  p.  509. 
'  |  In  a  Dissertation  entitled,  An  Umbilici  deligatio  in  nuper  natis  absolute 
nec&ssaria  sit,  Halse,  1735. 

§  FbderS's  IVj6d.  Leg.  torn.  iv.  p.  509. 
|{  Mahon's  M6d.  Leg.  torn.  ii.  p.  422,  &c. 

v...;-,      ^     - , 


*  v*VV 


■V* 


73 

All  these  arguments  are,  however,  inconclusive, 
when  subjected  to  the  test  of  fair  inquiry.  They  con- 
sist either  of  bold  assertions,  or  false  inductions.  With 
regard  to  the  first,  it  is  by  no  means  true,  as  a  general 
rule,  that  the  umbilical  vessels  do  contract  sufficiently 
to  prevent  fatal  hemorrhage.  A  few  cases  are,  indeed, 
related,  to  the  truth  of  which  it  would  be  difficult  not  to 
give  our  assent,  but  they  may  be  considered  as  solitary 
exceptions,  when  it  is  known  that  almost  every  practi- 
tioner in  midwifery  can  testify  to  the  fatal  effects  resulting 
from  a  wilful  or  accidental  neglect  of  tying  the  cord*. 

The  second  argument  is  no  less  unfounded  than  the 
first.  That  there  is  some  difference  in  the  structure  of 
the  human  cord  and  that  of  other  animals,  is  not  mere- 
ly a  rational  conjecture,  but  proved  by  actual  observa- 
tion. Professor  Brendelius,  in  examining  pups  and 
heifers,  found  their  umbilical  vessels  full  of  rugae  or 
folds  throughout  the  whole  of  their  course,  and  their 
size  much  less,  also,  in  proportionf .  In  another  place^ 
the  same  writer  says,  that  in  brutes  the  vessels  of  the 
cord  are  much  smaller  than  in  man,  and  that  when  the 
animal  is  born,  they  are,  in  a  measure,  closed  by  a  kind 
of  cellular  structure  J. 

From  this  it  appears,  that  in  brutes  there  is  a  pecu- 
liar construction  of  the  vessels  of  the  cord,  tending  to 
interrupt  the  flow  of  blood  through  them,  and  favour- 
ing their  speedy  contraction  after  they  have  been  cut. 
Besides,  the  manner  in  which  the  cord  is  separated 
in   brutes  facilitates  contraction.      It  is  never  cut  in 


*  Burns'  Midwifery,  p.  447,  3d  Ed.    Hosack's  MS.  Notes  on  Mid.  kc.  Sec 
t  Johannis  G.  Brendelii,   Medicina   Legalis   sive  Forensis,   Hannoveri^e, 

1789,  p.  19. 

^  Proelectiones  Academicae  J.  G.  Brendelii  in  H,  F.  Teiohraeyeri  jD«ti?- 

Med.  Leg.  &c.  Hanoverae,   1789,  p.  189. 


74 

them ;  it  is  torn  asunder,  and  the  disposition  of  a  vessel 
to  contract  under  such  circumstances  is  much  greater. 

The  third  has  still  less  force  than  either  of  the  fore- 
going arguments.  That  arteries  of  inconsiderable  magni- 
tude sometimes  contract  spontaneously,  is  granted.  But 
that  vessels  of  a  size  equal  to  that  of  the  umbilical  ones, 
do  contract  of  themselves,  cannot  be  admitted,  when  we 
know  that  very  dangerous  hemorrhages  sometimes  oc- 
cur from  vessels  even  much  smaller  than  those  of  the 
cord. 

If,  therefore,  it  can  be  proved  that  this  precaution 
has  been  wilfully  neglected,  it  is  perfectly  fair  to  im- 
pute it  to  an  intention  to  destroy  the  child.  It  should 
not  be  forgotten,  that  in  many  instances  it  may  result 
from  ignorance,  as  in  a  first  case  of  pregnancy,  where 
the  mother  may  be  wholly  unacquainted  with  the  dan- 
ger arising  from  the  neglect  of  this  circumstance. 

As  death  arises  here  solely  from  the  loss  of  blood, 
it  may  be  detected  by  an  examination  of  the  heart  and 
arteries.  It  is  well  known,  that  in  the  bodies  of  those 
who  have  not  died  of  hemorrhage,  the  arteries  are 
found  empty,  whilst  the  heart  and  the  veins  are  dis- 
tended ;  hence,  if  not  merely  the  arteries  but  also 
the  heart  and  veins  of  a  child  are  found  destitute  of 
blood,  it  is  a  certain  proof  of  its  having  died  of  he- 
morrhage. 


INFANTICIDE    BY    COMMISSION. 

1.  Premature  tying  of  the  umbilical  cord*. — We  know 
that  the  circulation  by  the  cord,  and  respiration,  are 
vicarious  functions,  and  if  one  be  interrupted  or  de- 

*  Hosack's  MS.  Notes  on  Midwifery,  &c. 


15 

stroyed  before  the  other  is  in  operation,  life  must  cease, 
It  is  accordingly  laid  down  as  an  invariable  rule  by 
practical  writers,  that  the  cord  should  never  be  tied  or 
divided,  until  respiration  has  been  perfectly  establish- 
ed*. It  would  be  difficult,  however,  when  death  arises 
from  this  source,  to  impute  it  to  a  malicious  design,  as 
the  presumption  would  generally  be,  that  it  arose  from 
ignorance,  except  where  a  professed  accoucheur  was 
implicated. 

2.  Wounds,  and  bruises. — These  resemble  so  much 
similar  injuries  in  the  adult,  that  it  is  useless  to  dwell 
at  any  length  upon  them.  It  should  be  recollect- 
ed, that  the  heads  of  children  are  sometimes  very 
much  swollen,  from  compression  during  a  difficult  and 
tedious  labour.  This,  therefore,  should  not  be  con- 
founded with  those  swellings  and  bruises  which  are 
consequent  upon  blows  voluntarily  inflicted  after  birth. 

One  of  the  most  common  methods  of  destroying  a 
child,  appears  to  have  been  that  of  thrusting  a  sharp 
instrument  into  its  head  through  the  fontanelles.     Gyui- 
Patin  relates  of  a  midwife  who  was  executed  at  Parik 
for  having  murdered   several  children  by  plunging  a\ 
needle  into  the  head  while  presenting  at  the  os  exter- ! 
numf.     Brendelius  also  speaks  of  the  same  horrible! 
practice]".     An  instance  of  this  kind  is  related  by  Bel-/ 
loc,  where,  upon  examination,  he  found  the  instrument 
had  penetrated  to  the  depth  of  two  inches  into  the  sub- 
stance of  the  brain§.     In  such  cases  it  is  necessary/ to 
shave  the  head,  when  a  slight  ecchymosis  will  be  #)iind 

*  Burns'  Midwifery,  p.  447,3d  Ed.  / 

t  Med.  Leg.  &c.  par  Mahon,  torn.  ii.  p.  409.  •  / 

$  Aciculis  bregmati  intrusis,   aut  oculorum  canthis  int&pnis,  quorum  prius 

conies  quidam  orlamindensis,  ;seculo  decimo  tertio  fecisse^egitur.- Prelect. 

Academ.  J.  G.  Brendelii,  &c.p.  138.  / 

k  Cours  de  Med.  L6g.  p.  93. 


4<-fr3 


~^1>aAUA 


76 

around  the  puncture,  and  it  is  then  proper  to  pursue  the 
examination  into  the  substance  of  the  brain  to  discover 
the  extent  of  the  wound ;  indeed,  this  minute  anatomic- 
al investigation  is  absolutely  requisite  to  detect  the  na- 
ture of  the  injury;  for  tumors  and  extravasations  on 
the  scalp  and  other  parts  of  the  body  may  occur  during 
delivery,  and  wholly  unconnected  with  any  malicious 
intent.  Needles,  or  other  sharp  instruments,  are  some- 
times thrust  into  other  parts  of  the  child;  such  as  the 
temples,  the  internal  canthus  of  the  eyes*,  the  neck,  the 
thorax  about  the  region  of  the  heartf,  and  the  abdo- 
men. Similar  investigations  with  those  above  men- 
tioned must  be  resorted  to  in  all  these  cases ;  and 
where,  from  the  situation  of  the  wound,  it  is  evident 
that  it  must  have  been  inflicted  after  delivery,  particu- 
lar attention  must  be  paid  to  the  state  of  the  lungs  to 
discover  if  the  child  had  respired, 

In  all  examinations  of  contusions,  two  cautions  ought 
to  be  observed ;  viz.  to  distinguish  them  from  the  dis- 
coloured spots  which  appear  on  the  surface  of  the 
body,  at  the  commencement  of  putrefaction ;  and,  not 
to  confound  accidents  which  may  occur  during  dissec- 
tion, with  those  resulting  from  blows  and  other  acts  of 
violence. 

3.  The  death  of  a  new-born  infant  may  be  caused 
hy  preventing  its  respiration.  This  may  be  accomplish- 
ed in  various  ways;  viz.  by  drowning,  hanging,  or 
strano-ulation ;  smothering  under  bed-clothes,  &c. ; 
suffocating,  by  thrusting  various  articles  into  the  mouth 
and  nostrils. 

Drowning.- — If  a  child  is  found  immersed  in  water, 

S* : 

Preel^t.  Academ.  J.  G.  Brendelii,  p.  18$. 


/t   k*vJ»~*^  ****"*? 


t^t^X 


77 

the  questions  to  be  determined  are,  Was  it  born  alive  ? 
— and  is  drowning  the  cause  of  its  death? 

According  to  De  Haen,  the  proximate  cause  of 
drowning  was  a  repletion  of  the  lungs  with  water,  by 
which  the  arteries  were  compressed,  and  the  circula- 
tion interrupted.  If  this  theory  were  founded  in  truth, 
we  should  always  be  provided  with  an  infallible  sign 
of  drowning.  The  experiments  of  Dr.  Goodwyn  have, 
however,  proved  the  fallacy  of  this  opinion,  for  he 
found,  on  opening  animals  that  had  been  drown- 
ed, that  only  a  small  quantity  of  water  had  enter- 
ed their  lungs.  It  is  unnecessary,  however,  in  this 
place,  to  enter  into  any  consideration  of  the  theo- 
ry of  drowning.  It  is  only  requisite  to  state  the  signs 
by  which  it  is  characterized  and  may  be  known.  Dis- 
section can  alone  develope  these,  and  to  it  recourse 
must  be  had  in  every  case  of  this  kind.  Dr.  Goodwyn, 
in  his  examinations  of  drowned  animals  immediately 
after  death,  found  that  the  lungs  contained  a  conside- 
rable quantity  of  a  frothy  fluid,  occasioned  probably  by 
the  water  which  enters  the  lungs,  mixing  with  the  pulmo- 
nary mucus ; — and  that  the  pulmonary  arteries  and  veins 
were  completely  filled  with  black  blood.  On  examining 
the  heart,  the  right  auricle  and  ventricle  were  perceiv- 
ed still  contracting  and  dilating;  but  the  left  ventricle 
was  motionless,  though  its  auricle  still  moved  feebly ; 
on  opening  the  heart,  the  right  auricle  and  ventricle, 
together  with  the  left  auricle  and  sinus,  were  filled 
with  black  blood ;  the  left  ventricle  was  only  about 
half  full  of  this  blood,  and  the  trunks  and  smaller 
branches  of  the  arteries  proceeding  from  it,  contained 
some  of  this  black  blood  also.     In  the  brain,  no  extra- 


73 

vasations  were  found,  and  no  other  appearance  than 
its  surface  being  of  a  darker  colour  than  natural*. 

Hanging  or  Strangulation. — Where  a  cord  has  been 
used,  a  circular  mark  will  be  perceived  around  the 
neck ;  in  other  instances,  ecchymoses  will  be  found  on 
the  neck;  the  face  livid;  tongue  swollen  and  project- 
ing, and  mouth  frothy.  On  dissection,  the  vessels  of 
the  pia  mater  and  the  jugular  veins  are  gorged  with 
blood,  and  the  lungs  are  livid  and  covered  with  spotsf. 
It  is  objected  to  the  correctness  of  any  decision  unfa- 
vourable to  the  accused,  that  all  these  signs  may  have 
been  the  result  of  accidental  strangulation,  from  the 
umbilical  cord  encircling  the  neck  of  the  child  while 
yet  in  the  uterus.  Instances  of  this  kind  have  doubt- 
less occurredj,  but  they  are  rare,  and  can  only  happen 
when  the  cord  is  of  an  extraordinary  length^.  They 
can  also  be  very  easily  distinguished  from  wilful  stran- 
gulation after  birth,  by  experiments  upon  the  lungs. 
In  the  former,  the  child  cannot  have  respired  ;  and  this 
will  be  indicated  by  the  application  of  the  various  tests 
which  have  been  pointed  out.  Besides  this,  there  are 
other  marks  of  discrimination.  In  the  latter,  there  are 
perhaps  the  traces  of  fingers  left  on  the  neck  in  the 
form  of  ecchymoses;  or  an  excoriation  of  the  epider- 
mis ;  while  in  the  former,  from  the  lubricity  of  the  um- 
bilical cord,  this  will  not  be  found. 

There  is  another  accident  sometimes  occurring  to 
the  cord,  which  it  is  of  consequence  to  recollect :— it  is 


*  Goodwyn  on  the  Connection  of  Life  and  Respiration ;  and  Edinburgh 
Encyc.  Art.  Drowning. 

t  Med.  Leg.  &c.  par  Mahon,  torn.  ii.  p.  410. 

%  Burns'  Midwifery,  p.  142,  3d  Ed. 

4  Burns  says  the  usual  length  of  the  cord  is  two  feet.    p.  142. 


79 

the  formation  of  knots  in  it,  occasioned  probably  by  the 
child  passing  through  a  coil  of  it  during  labour.  Smel- 
lie  relates  an  extraordinary  instance  of  this  kind*.  A 
similar  one  fell  under  the  notice  of  Dr.  Hosack.  Now 
in  cases  of  this  kind,  where  the  child  was  born  dead, 
or  died  a  short  time  after,  ignorance  might  impute  the 
existence  of  these  knots  to  a  criminal  intention  on  the 
part  of  the  mother.  The  method  of  detecting  this,  is 
similar  to  that  in  the  former  case.  The  length  of  the 
cord  must  be  noticed,  as  they  can  only  take  place  where 
it  is  very  long;  and  experiments  must  be  made  upon 
the  lungs  to  determine  if  the  child  was  born  alive. 

When  the  child  has  been  smothered  under  bed- 
clothes, &c.  the  circumstances  upon  which  to  form  a 
decision,  that  wilful  murder  has  been  committed,  besides 
those  which  characterize  strangulation  generally,  are, 
the  place  where  the  body  is  found  ;  the  floating  of  tFte^*^*  > 
lungs;  and  the  absence  of  any  other  probable  cause  to 
which  its  death  can  be  attributed  # 

When  respiration  has  been  interrupted  by  articles  put   >f^H  *H 
into  the  mouth,  nostrils,  or  throat,  dissection  can  alone 
detect  the  cause.  *  Ml 

The  child  may  also  have  been  suffocated  by  the 
turning  back  of  the  tongue  upon  the  epiglottis.  This 
can  only  be  caused  when  there  is  some  natural  defi- 
ciency  in  the  frsenum  of  the  tongue,  or  when  it  has  been 
lacerated,  either  by  the  child  itself  in  the  act  of  sucking, 
or  by  the  application  of  violence.  If,  therefore,  a  child 
has  not  sucked,  and  the  frsenum  is  found  torn,  it  is  just 
to  conclude,  that  it  must  have  been  the  effect  of  cri- 
minal interference"!". 

*  Smellie's  Midwifery,  vol.  ii.  p.  142..     Burns'  Midwifery,  p.  14.2. 
t  Fodere's  Aied.  Leg.  torn.  iv.  p.  495. 


80 

4.  Luxation  and  fracture  of  the  neck  has  been  caused 
by  forcibly  twisting  the  head  of  the  child,  or  pulling  it 
backwards*.  In  such  cases,  the  vertibrae  are  fractur- 
ed, the  ligaments  ruptured,  and  death  is  caused  by  the 
injury  inflicted  upon  the  spinal  marrow.  This  will  be 
known  from  the  local  derangements,  and  from  the  po- 
sition of  the  head ;  and  on  dissection,  from  the  blood 
found  effused  amongst  the  cervical  muscles,  or  in  the 
vertebral  canal,  and  from  the  fracture  of  the  first  or 
second  vertebra,  or  both. 

5.  Exposure  to  noxious  airs. — This  is  a  mode  of  de- 
stroying life  which  cannot  be  frequently  resorted  to. 
Women  have  been  known,  however,  to  destroy  their 
offspring  by  exposing  them  to  the  fumes  of  sulphur. 
According  to  Alberti,  this  may  be  known,  on  dissec- 
tion, from  the  livid  appearance  of  the  lungsf. 

6.  Poisons. — These  may  be  introduced  into  the  sys- 
tem in  various  ways-  They  may  be  inhaled  into  the 
lungs,  in  the  form  of  odours ;  or  they  may  be  taken  into 
the  stomach,  mixed  with  food ;  or  they  may  be  receiv- 
ed in  the  form  of  injections ;  or  be  absorbed  through 
the  skin. 

When  the  poisonous  substance  has  been  taken  into 
the  stomach  and  intestines,  it  should  be  carefully  ex- 
amined, and  subjected  to  the  various  tests,  which  che- 
mistry supplies  for  detecting  its'  presence.  In  cases 
where  the  cutaneous  absorbents  have  been  the  medium 
of  conveying  it  into  the  system,  it  may  be  very  difficult, 
generally,  to  discover  the  cause  of  death.     In  some  in- 


*  Mahon's  Med.  Leg.  torn.  ii.  p.  409. 

f  M4d.  L6g.  &c.  de  Mahon,  torn.  ii.  p.  412, 


Cx/U-O^'  <  ua<  <*      \^t-     h*n 


(JlXJLt^U.    f-   PLcL/ 


'  '  '  ' '    *  -£z 


81 

stances,  an  eruption  on  the  skin,  and  the  peculiar  odour  of 
the  substance  which  has  been  employed,  aided  by  the 
circumstantial  evidence,  may  lead  to  a  discovery. 

Such  are  the  various  means  resorted  to,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  causing  the  death  of  a  new-born  child  It  may  be 
almost  superfluous  to  suggest,  that  extreme  caution  is  al- 
ways necessary  in  making  up  a  decision  in  a  case  of 
infanticide ;  for  the  flame  of  life,  at  that  period  of  our 
existence,  burns  so  feebly,  that  the  slightest  breath  may 
extinguish  it  for  ever.  A  child  sometimes  expires  in 
convulsions,  a  short  time  after  birth,  without  any  evi- 
dent cause  At  other  times,  its  death  may  be  occa- 
sioned by  causes  perfectly  natural,  and  yet  so  far  con- 
cealed from  observation,  as  to  create  suspicions  of  vio- 
lence having  been  inflicted.  Introsusception  is  said  to 
be  common  to  children*,  and  of  course  can  only  be  de-  {*'i  % 
tected  on  dissection ;  the  premature  obliteration  of  the 
foramen  ovalef,  as  well  as  its  imperfect  closure^,  are 
also,  without  doubt,  frequent  sources  of  death. 

Circumstantial  evidence. — Although  this  does  not 
strictly  appertain  to  a  medical  discussion  of  this  sub- 
ject, yet  there  are  some  points  embraced  under  it,  con- 
cerning which  the  testimony  of  the  Physician  may  be 
required. 

1.  It  may  be  urged  in  excuse  for  a  woman  on  a  trial 
for  child  murder,  that  from  the  uncertainty  of  the  signs 
of  pregnancy,  she  might  have  been  ignorant  of  her  ac- 
tual condition,  and  therefore  might  have  been  sudder> 


*  Males'  Medical  Jurisprudence,  p.  101. 

+  Mahon's  Med.  Leg.  torn.  ii.  p.  406. 

$  An  interesting  account  of  two  cases  of  this  kind,  which  were  successfully 
treated  by  Dr.  Hosack,  is  contained  in  his  Appendix  to  the  Fourth  American 
Edition  of  Dr.  Thomas'  Practice  of  Physic. 


82 

ly  overtaken  with  the  pains  of  labour,  when  it  was  out 
of  her  power  to  command  assistance,  and  thus  the  child 
have  lost  its  life.  To  all  this,  a  very  plain  and  concise 
reply  may  be  made.  However  difficult  it  may  be  for  a 
Physician  to  say  positively  in  all  cases  whether  a  wo- 
man is  pregnant  or  not,  yet  we  can  scarcely  suppose  the 
woman  herself  to  entertain  any  doubt  on  the  subject.  If 
she  has  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  a  seducer,  and  if 
she  afterwards  experiences  those  changes  and  deve- 
lopements  in  her  system,  which  accompany  a  state  of 
impregnation,  she  cannot  but  be  conscious  of  her  true 
situation,  and  therefore  any  arguments  drawn  from  this 
source  ought  to  have  no  weight. 

2.  It  may  be  suggested,  in  vindication  of  the  wo- 
man, that  the  deliverv  was  so  rapid  that  it  was  out  of 
her  power  to  procure  assistance,  or  make  the  necessa- 
ry preparations  for  preserving  the  child's  life.  In  cases 
of  first  pregnancy,  it  is  not  very  probable  that  the  la- 
bour would  be  so  speedily  accomplished.  The  neces- 
sary dilatation  of  the  parts  would  require  a*  length  of 
time  sufficient  to  give  her  proper  warning  of  the  im- 
pending event.     In  succeeding  labours  this  might  occur. 

Dr.  W.  Hunter  relates  a  case  of  this  kind  which 
happened  in  his  own  practice*.  The  Phj  sician  should, 
therefore,  always  inquire  if  this  be  a  first  child,  or  if 
she  has  had  others  previously.  Other  circumstances  re- 
lating to  the  delivery  should  also  be  investigated.  It 
is  not  impossible  that  a  woman  may  be  delivered  while 
standing,  and  the  child  have  fallen  upon  the  floor,  and 
thus  its  death  have  been  occasioned. 


*  Observations  on  the  Uncertainty  of  the  Signs  of  Murder,  in  the  case  of 
Bastard  Children, 


83 

3,  The  size  of  the  child  should  always  be  noticed, 
and  compared  with  the  time  the  woman  has  been 
pregnant,  if  that  can  be  discovered,  tf  it  is  a  prema- 
ture delivery,  and  yet  the  child  be  full  grown,  it  is  evi- 
dently not  hers. 


,#4*  £•**•.*  <*►**•*■" 


+zzgmZL  i**01 


CHAPTER  III 


PREVENTION    OF    INFANTICIDE. 


niver- 


*pN^NT^ci^^hic^  ^^p^p^j^vprev^ilecj^o  unn 
sally,  and  without  restraint,  among  the  most^olished 
y^e^ftpld^is^ow  ^nsidered,  inall  enhght- 
xmn tries,  asva  crime  o^he  cfe e^e s t  cry e^*W^ 


kind,  orr?his  swJ3Jr©.8#^fed|^!fe^ed  frbmtpn^  extreme 
to  the  other ;  and  ifos  not  to  be  questioned,  bfft^tffik 
irtthe'preseniday,  manyrlm  bnocent  female  fs^wanton- 
ly  sacrificed  to  suspicion  and  prejucfice.^  The  pjiflmffle, 
however,  which  now  guides  the  moral  judgment  of  so- 


ciety on  this  subject,  is  undoubted'ly^psj^ jfer  iH%a^ 
crkB%V^h]fih  pue-supposes  the  pbliterjation  of  those  feel-^ 
ings  wiffth  human  na^?e^o^|ltv^^e>  m^s^p^gkof, 
land  whic^^f^Quntenanced,  °i\kut  slightly  punished, 
wnn1d^avd*fc©^the  most  dreadful  coniequence^  ■  .. 


m  That  a  young  female  of  character  and  reputable  con- 
#\ilp(L  and< possessed  ofHe«der ^sensibility,  ima^have 
been  betrayed  by^the  arts  of  a  base  ieu%ce*r^aoid^hen 
reduced  to  a  state  of  pregnancy,  to  avoid  the  disgrace 
which  must  otherwise  be  her  lot,  may  stifle  the  birthiin 
the  womb,  or  after  it  is  born,  in  a  state  of  phrenzy,  im- 
brue her  hands  in  her  infant's  blood,  in  the  expectation 
of  throwing  the  mantle  of  oblivion  over  her  crime,  is  a 
case  which  too  frequently  occurs.  But  even  such  a 
case,  with  all  its  palliations,  cannot  be  considered  as 


85 

less  than  wilful  murder,  and  as  such  demands  exempla- 
ry punishment. 

It  is  not,  however,  enough  for  a  wise  legislation 
merely  to  punish  crimes  after  they  are  perpetrated ;  it 
should  also  adopt  the  most  effectual  means  of  prevent- 
ing their  commission  altogether.  In  the  language  of  a 
Philosopher,  it  may  be  said,  that  "  the  punishment  of 
"  a  crime  cannot  be  just,  if  the  laws  have  not  endeav- 
"  oured  to  prevent  that  crime  bv  the  best  means  which 
"  times  and  circumstances  would  allow*." 

With  regard  to  infanticide,  it  is  impossible  to  sug- 
gest any  method  of  arresting  it  completely,  unless  there 
be  a  total  reformation  of  that  corruption  of  manners 
which  lies  at  the  root  of  the  evil.  Next  to  this,  the 
dread  of  severe  punishment  is  the  most  effectual  pre-? 
ventive.  Foundling  Hospitals  were  also  founded 
with  this  intent ;  whether  they  have  this  tendency  I 
shall  consider  presently,  after  having  enumerated  the 
laws  enacted  by  different  nations,  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  and  punishing  this  crime. 


THE    HISTORY    OF   LEGISLATION    ON    THE    SUBJECT    OF 
INFANTICIDE. 

Laws  against  abortion. — Although  the  Jewish  code 
specifies  nothing  relative  to  criminal  abortion,  or  to  the 
murder  of  the  new-born  infant,  yet  it  decreed,  that  if  a 
pregnant  woman  should  be  accidentally  injured  in  a  fray 
between  two  men,  so  that  she  proved  abortive,  with- 
out any  injury  to  her  own  person,  the  punishment  was 
a  fine,  such  "  as  the  judges  might  determine.''  If  the 
woman  received  any  personal  damage,  the  law  of  re- 

*  Beccaria's  Essay  on  Crimes  and  Punishments,  p.  104,  New- York  FA 

M 


86 

taliation  was  then  to  operate,  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a 

tooth  for  a  tooth.  <kc~. 

After  the  Romans  began  to  consider  the  procuring 
of  abortion  as  a  crime,  they  denounced  punishments 
against  the  authors  of  it.  These,  as  has  been  already 
noticed,  when  considering  the  animation  cf  the  foetus, 
varied  with  the  changes  that  took  place  in  the  philo- 
sophical sentiments  of  the  nation.  In  the  year  692,  a 
council  convened  in  the  palace  of  the  emperor,  at  Con- 
stantinople, ordained  that  it  should  be  punished  with 
the  same  severity  as  homicide4". 

In  France  the  Roman  law  was  adopted,  and  practised 
upon  until  the  revolution.  Fodere  says,  that  the  parlia- 
ments condemned  midwives  to  be  hanged,  for  procuring 
the  abortion  of  girls;  and  Physicians.  Surgeons,  and 
others  guilty  of  this  crime,  were  subjected  to  the  same  pu- 
nishment!:. The  French  code  of  179 i.  commuted  the  pu- 
nishment to  twenty  years  imprisonment  in  chains.  The 
penal  code  of  the  empire,  adopted  by  Napoleon  in  1810, 
contains  the  following  provisions  against  this  crime: 
';  Every  person  who,  by  means  of  aliments,  beverages, 
c;  medicines,  acts  of  violence,  or  by  any  other  means, 
"  shall  procure  the  untimelv  delivery  of  a  pregnant  wo- 
-;  man,  although  with  her  consent,  shall  be  sentenced 
••  to  confinement*  freclusion.") 

;i  The  same  punishment  shall  be  inflicted  upon  the 
"  mother  who  shall  make  use  of  such  means,  if  thev 
"  are  followed  by  abortion." 

;;  Physicians,  Surgeons.  Apothecaries,  and  other  of- 
;  fleers  of  health,  who  shall  prescribe  or  administer 
'A  such  means  of  abortion,  snail,  if  a  miscarriage  ensue, 
:'  be  sentenced  to  hard  labour  for  a  limited  time     ' 

*  Exodu?.  chap.  xxi.  v.  £2,  23. 

♦  Fodere'.?  Med.  Le>.  torn,  m  p.  583.  I  Ibid.  p.  384, 
I  Article  317.     For  &  transition  ::"  the   T..;k  iode,  see  Walsh's  American 

Review,  vol.  ii. 


87 

The  criminal  code  of  Austria,  established  in  1787. 
by  Joseph  II.  in  which  the  punishment  of  death  is  to- 
tally abolished,  decrees,  that  "  a  woman  with  child, 
"  using  means  to  procure  abortion,  shall  be  punished 
"  with  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  15,  nor  more 
i;  than  30  years,  and  condemnation  to  the  public  works ; 
"  augmented,  when  married,"— 

"  Accomplices  advising  and  recommending  abortion ; 
•;  — imprisonment  not  less  than  one  month,  nor  more 
i;  than  five  years,  and  condemnation  to  the  public 
M  works.  The  punishment  to  be  increased,  when  the 
;t  accomplice  is  the  father  of  the  infant*." 

The  English  Law  is  thus  stated  by  Blackstone. 
"  If  a  woman  is  quick  with  child,  and,  by  a  po- 
"  tion,  or  otherwise,  killeth  it  in  her  womb,  or,  if  any 
"  one  beat  her,  whereby  the  child  dieth  in  her  body, 
"  and  she  is  delivered  of  a  dead  child,  this,  though  not 
"  murder,  was  by  the  ancient  law  homicide,  or  man- 
"  slaughter.  But  the  modern  law  doth  not  look  upon 
"  this  offence  in  quite  so  atrocious  a  light,  but  merely  as 
;i  a  heinous  misdemeanour*)"."  "  But  if  the  child  be  born 
"  alive,  and  afterwards  die  in  consequence  of  the  potion 
;;  or  beating,  it  will  be  murder%"  By  a  subsequent  law, 
enacted  in  1803,  called  the  Ellenborough  act,  it  was  or- 
dained, that  "  if  any  person  shall  wilfully  and  maliciously 
"  administer  to,  or  cause  to  be  administered  to,  or  take 
44  any  medicine,  drug,  or  other  substance  or  thing  what 
"  soever,  or  use,  or  cause  to  be  used  or  employed,  any 
44  instrument,  &c.  with  intent  to  procure  the  miscarriage 
"  of  any  woman,  not  being,  or  not  being  proved  to  be 
;4  quick  with  child  at  the  time  of  committing  such  thing, 

*  Treatise  on  the  Police  of  London,  by  P.  Colquhoun,  L.  L,  D.  7th  YA, 
p.  656. 

t  Blackstone's  Commectarie5,  vol.  i.  p.  129. 
+  Ibid.     Note  by  Christian. 


88 

"  or  using  such  means,  then,  and  in  every  such  case,  the 
"  persons  so  offending,  their  counselors,  aiders,  and 
"  abettors,  shall  be,  and  are  declared  guilty  of  felony, 
t;  and  shall  be  liable  to  be  fined,  imprisoned,  set  in  and 
<;  upon  the  pillory,  publicly  or  privately  whipped,  or 
u  transported  beyond  the  sea  for  any  term  not  exceed- 
*;  ing  14  years*. " 

The  Law  of  Scotland,  on  this  subject,  appears  to  dif- 
fer. Mr.  Hume,  in  his  Commentaries  on  the  Criminal 
Law  of  Scotland,  says,  that  all  procuring  of  abortion, 
or  destruction  of  future  birth,  whether  quick  or  not,  is 
excluded  from  the  idea  of  murder,  because,  though  it 
be  quick,  still  it  is  only  pars  viscerum  matris,  and  not  a 
separate  being  of  which  it  can  with  certainty  be  said, 
whether  it  would  have  become  a  quick  birth  or  not. 
Since  Mr.  Hume  wrote,  a  case  occurred  in  the  High 
Court  of  Justiciary,  where  the  subject  was  discussed. 
A  Surgeon  and  Midwife  were  indicted  for  the  violent 
procuring  of  abortion,  were  convicted  and  sent  to  Bo- 
tany Bay  for  14  yearst. 

"  In  the  State  of  New-York,  there  is  no  statute  law, 
"  by  which  the  procuring  of  abortion  is  declared  a 
u  crime;  and  it  is, therefore,  only  punishable  according 
"  to  the  common  law  of  England,  which  has  been 
M  adopted  in  this  country.  Lord  Ellenborough's  act 
"  has,  however,  no  force  here,  and  we  of  course  return 
"  to  the  law,  by  which  it  is  declared  a  misdemeanour. 
"  As  such,  it  can  only  be  considered  in  our  courts,  and 
"  the  only  punishments  which  our  judges  are  enabled 
44  to  inflict,  are  fine  and  imprisonment^." 


*  Statutes  at  Large,  43,  Geo.  III.  cap. 

t  Edinb.  Med.  and  Surg.  Journal,  vol.  vi.  p.  249. 

i  MS.  Lectures  on  Legal  Medicine,  by  T.  E.  Beck,  M  D.  &c. 


89 

Laws  against  the  murder  of  the  new-born  infant — These, 
in  almost  all  civilized  countries,  are  capital.  Previously 
to  the  fourth  century,  the  edicts  of  the  Roman  empe- 
rors against  this  crime  were  partial  and  ineffectual ; 
towards  the  latter  part  of  that  century,  however,  it  was 
completely  prohibited.  The  following  is  the  article 
relating  to  it  in  Cod,  Justin,  lib.  iv.  tit.  52.  de  infant, 
expositis,  1,  2.  "  Unus  quisque  sobolem  suam  nu- 
"  triat;  quod  si  exponendam  putaverit,  animadversioni, 
"  quae  constituta  est,  subjacebit*." 

The  emperor  Charles  V.  condemned  the  mother 
io  death  only  in  cases,  where  it  could  be  proved  that 
the  child  had  been  born  alivef . 

In  1556,  Henry  IJ.  of  France,  made  a  law  condemn- 
ing to  death  every  woman  convicted  of  having  con- 
cealed her  pregnancy,  and  put  to  death  a  bastard  child. 
This  law  prevailed  until  the  year  1791  J,  when  every 
thing  relating  to  the  concealment  of  pregnancy  was 
repealed,  and  death  declared  to  be  the  punishment  of 
the  murder  of  the  child. 

The  penal  code  of  the  French  empire,  enacted,  that 
"  every  person  guilty  of  assassination,  parricide,  infanti- 
"  cide^  or  poisoning,  shall  suffer  death." — Art  302. 

Other  articles  provide  against  the  exposure  and 
abandonment  of  infants :  "  Those  who  shall  expose 
"  and  abandon  in  a  solitary  place,  a  child  under  seven 
"  years  of  age,  and  those  who  may  order  it  to  be  ex- 
"  posed,  shall,  on  that  account  alone,  if  such  order  be 
"  executed,  be  imprisoned  for  a  term  not  less  than  six 


*  Beckman's  Hist,  of  Inventions,  vol.  iv.  p.  437. 
t  Fodere's  M6d.  L%.  torn.  iv.  p.  396. 
%  Ibid.  p.  395. 


90 

•  months,  and  not  more  than  two  years,  and  fined  from 
"  16  to  200  francs."— Art.  349. 

And,  "  if  in  consequence  of  such  exposition  or  aban- 
"  donment,  the  child  shall  be  mutilated  or  crippled,  the 
"  act  shall  be  considered  and  punished  as  in  the  case 
"  of  wounds  voluntarily  inflicted,  and  if  the  conse- 
e4  quence  be  death,  it  shall  be  considered  and  punished 
"  as  murder" — Art.  35 1#. 

The  Austrian  Law  provides,  that  "  exposing  a  living 
"  infant,  in  order  to  abandon  it  to  danger  and  death ; 
"  or  to  leave  its  deliverance  to  chance ;  whether  the 
"  infant  so  exposed  suffers  death  or  not,  shall  be  punish- 
"  ed  by  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  eight  nor  more 
M  than  twelve  years ;  to  be  increased  under  circum- 
"  stances  of  aggravation!." 

In  Saxony,  infanticide  is  punished  with  the  same  se- 
verity as  parricide ;  the  culprit  is  put  into  a  bag,  with  a 
dog,  a  cat,  a  cock,  and  a  serpent,  and  then  thrown  into 
the  waterj. 

Although  the  Chinese  have  no  law  prohibiting  the 
exposure  of  children,  yet  they  inflict  a  slight  punish- 
ment for  the  wanton  murder  of  them.  The  following 
is  the  law  on  that  subject :  "  If  a  father,  mother,  pater- 
"  nal  grandfather  or  grandmother,  chastises  a  disobe- 
u  dient  child  in  a  severe  and  uncustomary  manner,  so 
M  that  he  or  she  dies,  the  party  so  offending  shall  be 
64  punished  with  100  blows§." 


*  American  R.eview,  vol.  ii.  p.  396. 

t  Colquhoun  on  the  Police  of  London,  p.  66. 

4  Specimen  Juridicum,  &c.  Lugduni  Bat.  p.  44. 

$  LaTsing  Leu  Lee  ;  being  the  fundamental  laws,  and  a  selection  from  the 
supplementary  statutes  of  the  Penal  Code  of  China,  by  Sir  George  Staunton, 
F.  R.  S.  p.  347.     Quart.  Rev.  vol.  iii.p.  312,  13. 


91 

The  English  Law  on  this  subject,  has,  within  a  few 
years,  been  materially  changed. 

By  the  Stat.  21,  Jac.  I,  c.  27,  it  is  enacted,  "  that  if 
"  any  woman  be  delivered  of  any  issue  of  her  body, 
"  which,  being  born  alive,  should  by  the  laws  of  this 
"  realm  be  a  bastard ;  and  that  she  endeavour  private- 
"  ly,  either  by  drowning,  or  secret  burying  thereof,  or 
"  any  other  way,  either  by  herself  or  the  procuring  of 
"  others,  so  to  conceal  the  death  thereof,  as  that  it  may 
"  not  come  to  light  whether  it  were  born  alive  or  not, 
"  but  be  concealed :  in  every  such  case,  the  said  mo- 
"  ther  so  ofiendjbg,  shall  suffer  death  as  in  the  case  of 
"  murder,  except  she  can  prove,  by  one  witness  at  the 
"  least,  that  the  child  whose  death  was  by  her  so  in- 
"  tended  to  be  concealed,  was  born  dead*." 

Upon  this  statute,  Blackstone  remarks,  "  This  law, 
"  which  savours  pretty  strongly  of  severity,  in  making 
"  the  concealment  of  the  death  almost  exclusive  evi- 
"  dence  of  the  child  being  murdered  by  the  mother,  is 
"  nevertheless  to  be  also  met  with  in  the  criminal  codes 
"  of  many  other  nations  of  Europe ;  as  the  Danes,  the 
"  Swedes,  and  the  French^. 

This  cruel  law  has  since  been  mitigated.  In  1803, 
an  act  was  passed,  in  that  country,  which  decrees, 
that  "  women  tried  for  the  murder  of  bastard 
ic  children,  are  to  be  tried  by  the  same  rules  of  evi- 
i(>  dence  and  presumption,  as  bj  law  are  allowed  to 
"  take  place  in  other  trials  of  murder:  if  acquitted,  and 
iC  it  shall  appear,  on  evidence,  that  the  prisoner  was 
6i  delivered  of  a  child,  which  by  law  would,  if  born 
'-'  alive,  be  bastard,  and  that  she  did,  by  secret  bury- 
"  ing,  or  otherwise,  endeavour  to   conceal  the   birth 


*  East's  Crown  Law,  vol.  i.  p.  228. 

t  Blackstoue's  Commentaries,  vol.  iv.  p.  198. 


92 

"  thereof,  thereupon  it  shall  be  lawful  for  such  court. 
u  before  which  such  prisoner  shall  have  been  tried,  to 
•4  adjudge,  that  such  person  shall  be  committed  to  the 
"  common  goal,  or  house  of  correction,  for  any  time 
"  not  exceeding  two  years." 

"  In  the  State  of  New-York,  we  have  no  particular 
"  law  concerning  this  crime,  and  as  the  English  sta- 
"  tutes  are  not  in  force,  all  trials  for  infanticide  must 
"  of  course  be  conducted  according  to  the  common 
"  law,  and  accessary  circumstances  can  only  be  consi- 
"  dered  as  proving  the  intent*." 


FOUNDLING    HOSPITALS. 

Foundling  Hospitals,  by  providing  for  the  support  of 
illegitimate  children,  are  generally  considered  as  a 
great  means  of  preventing  child  murder.  The  object 
of  these  institutions  is  no  doubt  commendable ;  but  it 
is  certain  that  they  are  not  productive  of  that  decided 
utility,  which  is  usually  attributed  to  them.  It  is  not  to 
be  denied  that  some  good  results  from  them,  but  it  is 
by  no  means  commensurate  with  the  abuses  to  which 
they  give  rise.  That  they  encourage  illicit  commerce 
between  the  sexes ;  discountenance  marriage ;  increase 
the  number  of  illegitimate  children,  and  consequently 
the  number  of  exposures  ; — are  facts  confirmed  by  the 
history  of  almost  every  Foundling  Hospital  that  has 
been  established.  Mr.  Malthus  states  facts  of  this 
kind  with  regard  to  the  Foundling  Hospital  in  Peters- 
burgh,  (Russia.)     "  To  have  a  child,"  says  he,  £i  was 

*  T,  R.  Beck's  MS,  Lectures  en  Legal  Medicine^ 


93 

"  considered  as  one  of  the  most  trifling  faults  a  girl 
"  could  commit.  An  English  merchant  at  Petersburgh 
"  told  me,  that  a  Russian  girl  living  in  his  family,  under 
"  a  mistress  who  was  considered  as  very  strict,  had 
"  sent  six  children  to  the  Foundling  Hospital  without 
-"  the  loss  of  her  place*."  It  is  not  necessary  to  en- 
ter into  a  laboured  course  of  reasoning,  to  prove  that 
the  effects  of  these  establishments  are  decidedly 
injurious  to  the  moral  character  of  a  people. — It  is  a 
position  sufficiently  self-evident,  and  as  Mai  thus  just- 
ly remarks,  "  an  occasional  child  murder,  from  false 
"  shame,  is  saved  at  a  very  high  price,  if  it  can  only  be 
"  done  by  the  sacrifice  of  some  of  the  best  and  most 
"  useful  feelings  of  the  human  heart  in  a  great  part  of 
"  the  nation*)"." 

There  is,  however,  another  objection  to  Foundling 
Hospitals.  The  history  of  such  establishments,  proves 
that  they  utterly  fail  of  accomplishing  their  object, 
which  is  the  preservation  of  the  lives  of  children.  The 
records  of  those  which  have  been  kept  with  the  great- 
est care,  exhibit  the  most  astonishing  mortality  of  the 
children. 

In  Paris,  in  the  year  1 790,  more  than  23,000,  and 
in  1800,  about  b2,000  children  were  brought  in;  and 
it  is  estimated,  that  H  of  all  the  foundlings  perish  an- 
nually through  hunger  and  neglect^.  It  is  stated  also, 
that  vast  numbers  of  the  children  die  from  a  disease 
called  Pendurcissement  du  tissu  cel;u!aire§,  which 
is  only  to  be  met  with  in  the  Foundling  Hospital. 
Of  100  foundlings  in  the  Foundling  Hospital  at  Vien- 


*  Mai  thus  on  Population,  vol.  i.  p.  368,  9.  t   [bid.  p   370. 

%  Beckman's  History  oflnventions.  vol.  iv.  p.  456,7, 
k  Cross1  Medical  Sketches  of  Paris,  p.  197,  1815. 

M 


^94 

na,  54  died  in  tfefi  1789.  In  the  Hospital  at  Metz,  cal- 
culation showed  that  seven  eights  of  the  whole  number 
of  children  perished.  In  an  Institution  of  this  kind  in 
one  of  the  German  principalities,  only  one  of  the  found- 
lings, in  20  years,  attained  to  manhood*. 

The  Foundling  Hospital  of  London,  exhibits  a  more 
favourable  picture.  The  average  of  those  who  died 
there  under  12  months,  in  10  years,  was  only  1  in  6, 
and  for  the  last  four  or  five  years,  even  less  in  propor- 
tionf. 

The  general  fact  is,  however,  sufficiently  evident, 
that  the  lives  of  multitudes  of  children  are  sacrificed  in 
these  Hospitals.  The  causes  too  are  evident — In 
some  instances,  it  arises  from  the  want  of  nurses,  or 
the  mismanagement  and  cruelty  of  those  that  are  em- 
ployed ;  in  others,  from  the  delicacy  of  the  infant,  and 
the  want  of  its  mother's  nourishment. 

But  do  Foundling  Hospitals  diminish  the  number  of 
infanticides  ?  We  have  no  evidence  of  such  a  result 
flowing  from  them.  From  the  deleterious  influence 
which  they  have  upon  the  moral  feelings  of  the  female 
sex,  we  cannot  believe  that  it  is  the  case.  And  it  is  ac- 
cordingly stated,  that  after  the  Foundling  Institution  of 
Cassel  was  established,  not  a  year  elapsed  without  some 
children  being  found  murdered  in  that  place  or  its  vi- 
cinity J. 


*  Beckman  on  Inventions,  vol.iv  p.  456,  7. 

1  Highrnore's  History  of  the  public  charities  in  and  near  London,,  p.  727. 
Rees1  Cyclopedia,  Art   Hospital, 
i  Beckman's  Hist,  of  Inventions,  vol.  iv.  p.  45S= 


95 

Note.— The  following  account  of  the  deaths  in  the  different 
Foundling  Hospitals  of  Europe,  will  afford  ample  testimony  in  sup- 
port of  the  opinion  already  advanced.  It  is  taken  from  the  Edin- 
burgh Med.  and  Surg.  Journal,  vol.  i.  p.  321,  2, 

"  In  1751,  Sir  John  Blaquiere  stated  to  the  House  of  Commons 
"  of  Ireland,  that  of  19,420  infants  admitted  into  the  Foundling 
"  Hospital  of  Dublin,  during  the  last  ten  years,  17,440  were  dead. 
"  or  unaccounted  for ;  and  that  of  21 80  admitted  during  1790,  on- 
"  ly  187  were  then  alive.  In  1797,  he  got  a  committee  of  the 
"  same  House  appointed,  to  inquire  into  the  state  and  management 
"  of  that  Institution.  They  gave  in  their  Report  on  the  8th  of 
■•  May,  1797  ;  by  which  it  appeared,  that  within  the  quarter,  end- 
"  ing  the  24th  March  last,  540  children  were  received  into  the 
"  Hospital,  of  whom,  in  the  same  space  of  time,  450  died  ;  that,  in 
''  the  last  quarter,  the  official  report  of  the  Hospital  stated  the 
"  deaths  at  three,  while  the  actual  number  was  found  to  be  203  ; 
"  that  from  the  25th  March  to  13th  April,  nineteen  days,  116  in- 
"  fants  were  admitted  ;  of  which  number,  there  died  112.  With- 
"  in  the  last  six  years,  there  were  admitted  12,786  ;  died  in  that 
"  time  12.651  ;  so  that  in  six  years,  only  135  children  were  sav- 
"  ed  to  the  public  and  to  the  world. 

"  In  the  Charite  of  Berlin,  where  some  enjoyed  the  advantage 
"  of  being  born  in  the  House,  and  of  being  suckled  by  their  mo- 
"  thers  six  weeks1  scarcely  a  fourth  part  survived  one  month. 

"  Every  child  born  in  the  Hotel  Dieu  of  Paris,  was  seized  with 
61  a  kind  of  malignant  aphthae,  called  le  muguet,  and  not  one  sur- 
"  vived  who  remained  in  the  house. 

"  At  Grenoble,  of  every  100  received,  25  died  the  first  year  ;  at 
11  Lyons,  36;  at  Rochelle,  50;  at  Munich,  57;  and  at  Montpel- 
(i  Her,  even  60.  At  Cassel,  only  10  out  of  741  lived  14  years.  In 
"  Rouen,  one  in  27  reached  manhood,  but  half  of  these  in  so  mise- 
"  rable  a  state,  that  of  108,  only  2  could  to  be  added  to  the  useful 
"  population.  In  Vienna,  notwithstanding  the  princely  income  of 
"  the  Hospital,  scarcely  one  in  19  is  preserved.  In  Petersburgh, 
"  under  the  most  admirable  management  and  vigilant  inspection  of 
"  the  Empress  Dowager,  1200  die  annually  out  of  3650  received. 
"  In  Moscow,  with  every  possible  advantage,  out  of  37,607  admit- 
:  ted  in  the  course  of  20  years,  only  1020  were  sent  out. 


ERRATA. 

Page  56  line  6  from  bottom,  for  Teichmeyer — read  Brendelius. 
Page  67  for  torn.  iv.  p.  460 — read  torn,  ii.p.  456. 


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